"Mother!" is a Powerful Allegory about Man, God, and Earth's Relationship

“Mother!” was endowed with symbolism referring the bible, narrates the complicated relationship between God, Man, and Earth through time, but leaves plenty of unanswered questions. The film’s enriched with heavy subtext hinting at humanity’s monopolization of land and disregard for consequences on the planet. 

The actual storyline feels vague, and seems to come short at times. This subtext-heavy film highlights the gore humans are capable of, providing the horror scene with an enjoyable experience. 

            “Mother” is equipped with references to the bible. Early in the film, a gentlemen shows up asking for refuge, the following day his wife joins him, and later on a scar’s shown on his right side, making reference to Eve being made from Adam’s rib. The film later introduces two brothers getting into a brothel, excellent reference to Cain and Abel. 

The lead character’s a famous author who’s grown a cult-like following, and while his wife forces herself to put up with them, more keep coming. The film does a great job at simulating what Mother Earth would say to God about humanity. 

             It’s impressive how well the film correlates the relationship between the human race and our planet over time. As the story progresses, more uninvited visitors join the lead characters in their home. The uninvited guests keep ignoring any type of house etiquette, and as Jennifer Lawrence’s character yells and pleads to respect her home, they simply ignore her. 

There are prime examples throughout the movie where human’s abuse of the planet leave long lasting effects. While the symbolism is to be praised, the actual storyline comes a bit short, making us forget the characters as people, but simply see them as puns in an allegory. The story behind the two main characters seems to go unanswered, “what are they?”

             “Mother” does an incredible job at showing how Mother Earth would react to the destruction, and overpopulation being caused by humans. This film isn’t for everyone, but as a powerful allegory, deserves a chance. 

Wes Craven: Independent Filmmaking Royalty

 If you walk into this man’s home, you’ll hear a scream from the people under the stairs. You’ll run out thinking it was a nightmare, when you were just inside the last house on the left. Scream, People Under the Stairs, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Last House on the Left are a few of the titles that make up Wes Craven’s filmography.

About to turn 30, he took a risk and moved to California in pursuit of his new found passion, film-making. His earliest work goes back to writing and editing porn. Which no one from his family saw coming, since he was raised in a strict Baptist household. In 1972, Wes Craven released his first full-length film as a director, Last House on the Left. Last House on the Left follows 17-year-olds Mari and Phyllis as they’re kidnapped, degraded, and raped by escaped convicts. Phyllis eventually dies in an attempt to save her best friend. Mari, trying to escape, befriends the leader’s son by giving him a nickname and her necklace. He lets her runaway. Hope fills Mari’s eyes as she runs as fast as she can. The criminals catch up to her. They rape her, and carve their names into her chest. That little glimmer of hope she had disappears. 

The escaped convicts are ashamed of what they’ve done, they stare at their blood stained hands and give her space. Mari, extremely weak, manages to push herself off the ground, throws up, and says a prayer under her breath. She no longer tries to run, she walks towards the lake, and knows this is the end of the road for her. They shoot her. The water carries her body away. The escaped convicts take refuge in a lake house thanks to a married couple. The married couple turns out to be Mari’s parents. They manage to figure out what happened to their daughter and take vengeance into their own hands. 

I have an admiration for independent filmmakers, because they don’t have the big budget that Hollywood movies have, they can’t rely on stunning special effects, A-List celebrities, or worldwide promotion. Independent filmmakers have to make sure the storyline has a good flow, the acting is believable, and the editing shows continuity. The film, for me, is an example of how hard work does pay off. With a budget of $90,000, they were able to make a profit of $3.1 million at the box office.

            The story itself reminds me of something my Dad once said, that a person isn’t born bad, that it’s life and society that turns people a certain way. An upbringing filled with poverty led three people to find pleasure in causing others pain. A doctor and his wife mutilated three people in name of revenge. This story is filled with human beings being driven to unleash the darkest side of them. Last House on the Left shines a clean light into the dingy corners of the human psyche, which is what I believe a film should do. Now, I encourage you all to support independent films by visiting a film festival. And for my fellow filmmakers, keep writing! Keep directing! Keep going! Feel free to check out this short documentary on "The Last House on the Left."

The People Under the Stairs: How it Broke the Horror Movie Archetype

The People Under the Stairs broke the horror archetype on many different levels. The film had a child as the lead actor, the cast was predominantly black, and achieved a perfect blend of horror and comedy-all a rare thing in the horror genre. In addition to the villains being rich and White, it was scary how detached they were from real life, but then again, they won the natural lottery. As the story progresses, one can’t help but to bond with the lead character through a series of difficult choices. “[…] Daddy cut out the bad parts, and put the boys in the cellar, […]. They get flashlights and food of some kind. I suppose they're happy in their own way.” This dark tale tells the story of insane siblings who’ve stolen children, thrown some away in the cellar, and fed the rest to the people under the stairs. 

 

Real life problems are presented to this barely thirteen year old in the first act. Fool, our lead character, has a mother dying of cancer, his family’s about to be evicted, and they have nowhere to go. It’s interesting how the person that lost the natural lottery is the hero of this film, and the winners are placed as the villains. 

An opportunity to earn money to save his family arises; it goes against his moral standing, but what good are morals when your family’s starving? Finding yourself rooting for Fool is inevitable, which leaves the window open for fear to sneak in, making it impossible to fear for our young hero. 

 

The film itself managed to stand out when released for many reasons. It’s become a custom in scary movies to have barely any, if not, no Black people included in their production. Wes Craven noticed the unleveled playing field within the horror genre and reacted. This movie featured a mostly Black cast, and not only that, but the lead actor was Black. To quote one of the greatest sequels, “the horror genre is historically known for excluding the African American element.” – Which happens to be another Wes Craven film. While some scenes do seem farfetched, it works with the movie, even adding some humor to the story.  

 

            The People Under the Stairs comments on unfair housing policies. The children-stealing landlords charge tenants double the rent when late a day, and triple when late two days, and evicted on the third. The sole purpose of those rental claws is to get as much money as possible from low-income families, then push them out, making the building available for  “different” type of tenants. These morally depraved brother and sister aren’t so detached from modern days landlords in parts of cities labeled the “ghetto” part of town. If anything, this movie amplifies on the need for fair housing policies all over the country. Authority may be a dangerous thing when in the hands of certain people. 

The People Under the Stairs is a must watch! And like the song over the ending credits says, “Do the right thing!” 

 

Prevenge: Who Would Suspect a Pregnant Woman of Murder?

   “While people search for a purpose, I already got one.” This modern take on the horror genre portrays a pregnant woman committing murder in the name of revenge, hence the title. Prevenge is a well written story, accompanied by an amazing cast, and complimented by shots telling a story in a single frame. One of the best qualities of this film is how it delivers a different type of heroine. Who would suspect a middle class pregnant woman of murder? We’re able to dig deeper into the psychology behind each character through great use of foreshadowing. This movie not just delivers some gory, creepy scenes, but some good comedic moments, as well. Prevenge exemplifies on the difficult choices one has to make; life or death? Seek revenge, or sit at home angry? 

 

Each cast member has a moment to shine, and takes advantage of it, leaving us a good aftertaste with each scene. There are moments when one can’t stop to think, what lead actor would do that?!?! After looking up the movie on Wiki, it all made sense, the lead actress is also the writer and director- making it even more worthy of praise. The rest of the actors either make us sympathies with them, yet hate them to the point where we can’t wait for that knife to enter them - with that being said, thank you for the impeccable acting. Congratulations to the casting director for bringing together a talented assemble. The cast succeeds in delivering dark humor, eerie moments, and convincing performances.  

  The entire production team behind Prevenge produced a great new-age horror film. The story follows a woman seeking revenge for the death of her husband. There are moments where doubts emerge, but they’re quickly silenced by that little creepy voice inside her head. Throughout the movie, the lead character hears a voice urging her to continue with avenging her husband’s death. It’s understood that she believes the voice to be of her unborn child. She even avoids her sonograms because she fears what may be growing inside of her. This film interestingly turns the tables by making a person who society would perceive as vulnerable, into this horror film’s knife wielding psychopath.  

The director of photography, location scout, special make-up effects supervisor, all did a great job at pulling us into this story. This film could have been made as a dark comedy, but keeps the horror genre present at all time, either through blood on the floor, a creepy voice over, or eerie images. The foreshadowing in this movie is done very subtle. While Ruth, our pregnant murdering heroine, converses with a midwife, she’s told that the baby is in control now, to just give into it, if only the midwife knew she was green-lighting a murdering spree. 

A fan of the horror genre? Please watch this movie! You won’t regret it. 

"Top 5 Teen Slasher Films"

 

#5 "The Final Girls"

“The Final Girls” is a slasher-comedy about a teen attending a screening of a slasher film her late mother was in. Within the first act, her and her group of friends are transported into an 80’s cheesy slasher flick. The screenplay was written by Joshua John Miller, Miller’s inspiration came from seeing his father, also an actor, die on film. He plays with the idea of what it would be like if he had a second chance, but this second chance was inside the movie. The film does a great job at poking fun at slasher films, where sexually promiscuous teenagers get murdered one by one.    

#4 "Freddy Vs. Jason"

            Okay, this film might not have the strongest writing or the best cast, but it has the original Freddy, Robert Englund- AND JASON VORHEES! The film has blood, guts, and sharp objects being thrown around, but it probably works best as a comedy-horror. The characters are pretty basic, which may stop the audience from forming any emotional attachment, leaving us not caring for who dies next. This movie has cool fighting scenes between Jason and Freddy, making it beloved by horror fans, giving us hope for another crossover, maybe Jason Vs. Michael?

  

#3 "Scream"

            Wes Craven reinvented the horror genre a second time with “Scream.” Other films came along hoping to imitate its success like, “Urban Legend” or “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” An interesting fact about this film is that it was rated NC-17 when first presented as a horror, but Craven was told it was too scary. “Scream” was later re-submitted for rating, but as a comedy, and was rated R this time. This film acknowledged other horror film Icons like, Freddy and Michael Myers, giving it a more realistic vibe. The scream trilogy gave us the last scream queen, Neve Campbell, and for that, we’ll be forever grateful.  

 #2 "A Nightmare on Elm St."

            Freddy Krueger- that’s all you need to say when presenting this movie. This film gave many of us nightmares, I mean, can you imagine knowing someone wants to kill you, and not being able to sleep on top of that? I don’t know if I would make it to the end, I need my sleep. A Nightmare on Elm St. spawned a franchise featuring this iconic villain. In the late 70s to the mid 80s, more than 100 men died in their sleep according to Vanwinkles.com, being named the “Asian Death Syndrome.” All the victims were Asian men, young and healthy, who went to sleep and never woke up. These strange deaths along with testimonies about sleep paralysis were the base inspiration for this movie.

 

 

#1 "Halloween"  

            A classic that had to be on this list is “Halloween.” This successful 1978 horror film, not only gave us horror icon, Michael Myers, but the memorable scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis. On a budget of $300,000, the movie grossed $47 million at the box office in the U.S. and $23 million internationally, making “Halloween” a profitable independent film. If you haven’t seen the 1978 version, and have only seen the Rob “I’m gonna stretch the fuck outta' the beginning” Zombie version, please do yourself a favor and watch the original, then apologize to humanity afterwards. 

"Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil," the Result of Horror and Comedy Having a Beautiful Baby

           "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" is a horror-comedy that does a perfect job at poking fun at the horror genre. A group of preppy college kids believe their friend has been taken by evil hillbillies, they act as if they were in a scary movie, taking things from bad to worse throughout the entire film. This isn’t a comedy where it’s one joke after another, it’s a smart comedy where everything is taken out of context. One example is when Dale, a likable shy hillbilly, approaches a couple of college girls, bursts out laughing awkwardly while holding a scythe... any wonder why the two girls were terrified? 

 

I mean who wouldn’t be creeped out by that? Props to the director and director of photography, if you pause it at any time, since everything was placed perfectly in the shot, you immediately know what type of story this is.

           Another pro is how they switched the roles, where it was the guys that fit the horror film villain archetype turning out to be the protagonist. Each one of the college kids was the typical character you’d find in a campy horror movie, you got the cute final girl, the annoying douchebag, the dumb blonde, etc... 

 

  

          Emphasis on the dumb blonde role...

  

           The writer did a great job! We laugh at these preppy college kids taking things out of context, and we get scared for our beloved hillbillies, and why? Because these damn college kids keep trying to kill 'em!  

           Definitely recommend this film for all horror-comedy fans, you'll laugh, get your nice dose of graphic violence, and sleep well that night. Two thumbs up! 

Check out the trailer below!

Why "Scream 2" is the Best Horror Sequel in History!

The best sequel in horror film history? Yes. Horror sequels tend to be watered down versions of their predecessor, yet Scream 2 is nothing close to that. This sequel plays with the idea of "cause & effect" by exploring the consequences of the original Woodsboro massacre.  A remarkable quality of the film was the mixture of different genres it contained: Horror, romance, comedy, suspense...etc. The mixture of genres allowed us to sympathize better with the heroin; Who hasn't felt scared when walking down an isolated street? Who hasn't felt the butterflies of sharing a smile with their crush? Who hasn't shared a laugh with a close friend?

We were provided with a romantic plot that hooked us in the first film, and reeled us in with the second installment. I’m talking about the relationship between the ambitious news reporter, Gale Weathers, and the kind-hearted officer, Dui. 

We want them to be together, but reality keeps kicking in, reminding them of their differences, one dreams of being the next Diane Sawyer...

 While the other dreams of a normal life: a family, a white picket fence, and no murderers to chase after. 

Then, there's Sidney, our unlucky protagonist, and Derrick, a good guy that won't stop fighting for her. Once you fall for their puppy love, it hurts much more when their existence is in danger. 

"It's all happening again...." A memorable scene is when Derek, Sidney's boyfriend, is attacked. Dui rushes to Derek's rescue and Sidney's left outside the house, worried, scared, witnessing everything she believes to be her fault. It’s the exchange of looks that Dui and Sidney trade that makes the scene more significant. Dui looks at her in a way that tells her, it’s all starting again. Sidney, with watery eyes, finally accepts it, nothing is over, and more blood is to be shed.

Sidney, haunted by the sins of her mother, yearns for a normal life- but a normal life is not in her cards. (ONLY SPOILER) A killing that really hit home was Hallie, Sid's roommate, with whom she shared more than just a room, but her insecurities, and was never absent when Sidney needed reinsurance that she was not alone. 

Sidney formed an emotional bond with the victims, resulting in her blaming herself for everything, when she was only a victim as well. 

 After the first massacre, Sidney seems to suffer from post-traumatic stress. The poor girl sees ghost face everywhere, like soldiers coming back from war who find it difficult to adjust to a civilian life. A scene that pointed out how traumatized Sidney was, was the play rehearsal...

As far as the story-line goes, it’s perfectly structured. Each scene adds information to the murder mystery and pushes the story forward.  The acting is on point; Neve Campbell is a respectable scream queen.  “Scream 2” took the weaknesses of the first film and eliminated them from the second, while emphasizing on the strengths of the first installment, like making fun of horror films while being inside a scary movie itself. "Stab 2? Who would want that? Sequels suck."

 What’s your favorite horror sequel? And what did you think of “Scream 2?”