The Devil's Muse

Category: horror

  • Horror Cinema: The Evil Within

    The demonic villain alone makes The Evil Within worth watching. The demon’s make-up and his overall psychotically violent demeanor was scary. His relationship to the protagonist was intriguing and interesting to watch as he forced the protagonist into becoming a killer. I found the story thoughtfully layered, from the protagonist’s back story with his brother to the protagonist’s shifting identities near the end of the story as the demon possessed him. Narrative aside, the demon and the killer were unlike anything I had seen before and were memorable.

    Getty, Andrew. The Evil Within, Vision Films, 2017.

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  • Sideshow

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  • Ti West’s The Sacrament – Featurette

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  • Horror Cinema: Ginger Snaps

    My favorite aspect of Ginger Snaps is its setting: suburbia. The movie captures the unsettling homogeny of suburbia so well, and it does a great job of ripping it apart. Add to that the intelligently written story that touches thoughtfully on women’s sexuality, and this movie stands apart from the average horror movie, let alone werewolf flick.

    Fawcett, John. Ginger Snaps, Motion International, 2000.

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  • Horror Cinema: The Crone

    On more than one occasion while watching The Crone, I exclaimed, “What the heck is going on right now?” Some of the visuals were surreal and others were body horror, which were super gross, but that is what I want from a horror movie, so it was great. The movie, overall, was spooky as sh*t, and I loved it. For a supernatural movie and a Japanese horror film, this one is a classic!

    Naito, Eisuke. The Crone, Travis, 2013.

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  • Horror Cinema Trivia: Only Lovers Left Alive

    Only Lovers Left Alive is a dreamy tale about vampires that, interestingly, never uses the word “vampire” in the movie. I really enjoyed how this story made me reflect on the passing of time and the feeling of being connected to the past. I liked this tidbit about the movie related to British literature:

    Christopher “Kit” Marlowe (Sir John Hurt) mentions writing Hamlet, and ghostwriting for William Shakespeare to have an outlet for his work. The real Marlowe died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 29, a few weeks before the publication of Shakespeare’s first known play. The Marloweian theory, which is considered fringe by a vast majority of scholars, suggests that he faked his death, and adopted the nom de plume “William Shakespeare.”

    I loved the mix of moodiness and drama in this story.

    Source: IMDb Trivia: Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

    Jarmusch, Jim. Only Lovers Left Alive, Soda Pictures, 2014.

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  • Horror Cinema: Final Destination 5

    Of the Final Destination movies, the fifth one stands out as my favorite. The gore is shockingly and satisfyingly brutal, and the flimsy plot holds up well with good pacing. I liked how the initial gorefest took up a significant portion of the movie, and the domino-effect deaths followed somewhat quickly after. Also, I am always a fan of a 3D horror movie because the gore scenes are much more aggressively directed at the viewer.

    Quale, Steven. Final Destination 5, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2011.

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  • Lizzie Borden Took an Axe

    Crime SuspenStories #13

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  • Horror Cinema: Phoenix Forgotten

    Phoenix Forgotten was like The Blair Witch Project in that it was a story about a group of missing individuals told through found video. Where Phoenix Forgotten excelled was in its storytelling. Going into the movie, I had certain expectations based on the trailer that the story would be about an alien abduction. What I liked about the movie most was that it gave me exactly what I wanted from it. The twists and turns, and particularly the pacing of the story and of how the narrative unfolded, were well executed and made for an unexpectedly good movie.

    The characters were sweet, endearing and believable, and the discovery of found video halfway through the narrative was an expert way to take the movie into a direction I did not think it could go, with an ending that was, to me, very satisfying. Highly recommended! 👽

    Barber, Justin. Phoenix Forgotten, Cinelou Films, 2017.

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  • Horror Cinema: Nocturne

    Nocturne was a unique take on a cursed book horror narrative. What made it special, for me, was that it took place in a specific group of people: competitive musicians. The story’s interplay of the cursed book with the drama of a young classical musician trying to make a name for herself made the movie more interesting than if the curse had happened to an average teenager. The movie also had some good bloody visuals and unexpected spooky, mystical moments.

    Quirke, Zu. Nocturne, Amazon Studios, 2020.

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