Weekly Favorites
Flatliners and The Core
Hey dudes! I’ve watched a lot of horror movies this week and they sent me spiralling into an emotional rabbit hole. Here’s what I watched:
- Jug Face
- The Exorcist 3 – Director’s Cut
- The Shallows
- Flatliners
- Final Destination 2
- Eden Lake
- MTV Presents: This is Horror (1991)
- The Core – full series
I’ll be sharing my two favorites below but honorable mentions need to go out to Jug Face and Eden Lake. Jug Face, written and directed by Chad Crawford Kinkle was released in 2013 and stars the incredible Lauren Ashley Carter. I don’t know how to feel about this movie!!!!! Do I like it? Do I not? I wake up each day feeling a different way about it, which is pretty cool. I recommend it but also I don’t? I’m conflicted but the concept is so incredibly cool and unique. Maybe watch it and form your own opinion and then tell me to think!
Secondly, Eden Lake – released in 2008, this was written and directed by James Watkins and stars the wonderful Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender. This movie FUCKED. ME. UP. I’m still sick to my stomach about it. If you feel like having your soul crushed and torn out of your body and want to wake up feeling like life is pointless. Oh boy, this movie is for you. But goddamn if it isn’t effective and does the job it set out to do. I don’t want to recommend it because I don’t want to be responsible for your feelings.
But here are my favorites of the week:
Flatliners is a 2017 remake of the 1990 classic. And I can hear your groans from here. BUT I really enjoyed it so suckkkkk it. As with most remakes, I try to look at them as their own identity and not compare, otherwise I’d never be happy. So Flatliners, 2017, as its’ own entity is not bad you guys! And to be fair, I was very tender after watching Eden Lake, and the safety and predictability of Flatliners made me happy.
This remake was directed by Niels Arden Oplev and follows Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev, James Norton and Kiersey Clemons as they work as medical students in a highly competitive program. Page’s character, Courtney, is curious about death after her sister tragically died when they were younger, and she develops a way to track the brain at the time of death. She wants to find out what happens when you die. The group of students begin making their hearts stop, recording it as it happens, and then bringing themselves back to life. When they die they enter a strange dream like world and come back to life with their natural abilities enhanced. Unfortunately, they also bring something evil back with them.
Look, the scares are nothing new in this movie, and nothing is new in this movie. BUT the cast is pretty great, Diego Luna being my favorite performance, and Kiefer Sutherland shows up which is always a joy. Some of the images are pretty spooky, and it held my attention very well. If you’re looking for something more mind numbing to pass the time on a Friday night and just enjoy yourself – check out the remake of Flatliners. Or….watch the original if you haven’t already…
4/5
Shudder, any horror fans favorite streaming service in the world, continuously brings us interesting and unique content. I spent this week watching their TV show The Core and had a fucking blast. The Core takes us behind the scenes of how horror movies and special effects are made with Mickey Keating as the host and a whole slew of incredible guests including Elijah Wood, the Soska sisters, and Leigh Whannell, just to name a few. My favorite episodes are the Halloween special where Mickey sits down with Adam Green and Danielle Harris to talk all things Halloween and play a game of guess who with Michael Myers masks. I also loved the episode with Mary Harron who spoke so openly about being a female film maker and shared her favorite Hitchcock scenes.
Honestly though, every episode is so much fun to watch including interviews, gags, how-to create special effects, and the guests sharing their favorite scenes of movies. My favorite gag was when Mickey interviewed Simon Barrett, writer of You're Next, while having him keep his hand in a blender and in between each question turning the blender on. Also, at the end of each episode Sam Zimmerman always recommends a few movies that you can watch on Shudder that match that week’s theme. My list got SO big you guys! I already have 7 I need to watch next week.
It's just a charming, fun show that is a must-see for any avid horror fan and I would honestly re-watch them all again.
