A Yorgos Lanthimos Emma Stone double bill. I loved both these movies. After THE FAVOURITE I wondered if Yorgos would become a prisoner of his very eccentric “wide angle lens” style, but he seems to have reinvented himself for BUGONIA.
Emma Stone is brave, fearless. She reveals so much of her private thinking in POOR THINGS, it’s incredible. I loved the fake, fantastical sets (built in a Hungarian studio on a budget), the lavish costumes — it felt like a fever dream. Mark Ruffalo cracked me up, he seems to be having so much fun.
Yorgos is brave, too. The ending of BUGONIA is properly bonkers, off the chain, and extremely enjoyable for it. I found the film edgy, uncomfortable to watch, but by the time the credits rolled I knew I had another Blu-ray to buy.
I’ve written a bit about OBSESSION here. Two powerhouse performances from Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston are at the heart of why it works. And a far-fetched, fundamentally silly premise played dead straight, as if it’s the God’s honest truth — to me the key to unlocking a high concept horror.
Coming up with an image that becomes a meme, that defines a moment in time, is no mean feat. The kids running with their arms stretched out, beautifully photographed in low light at night… so clever. I have friends who didn’t like WEAPONS — but I loved it. I had no idea what was coming next which you can’t say about a lot of big budget, formulaic fare.
Nicolas Cage goes out there. And when I say “out there” I mean… out there. I love an OTT, grandstanding, look-at-me performance — assuming it’s justified by the story. Whether it’s Tim Curry in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, or Michael Keaton in BEETLEJUICE. There’s a lunatic freedom there that just isn’t possible in our buttoned-up, civilised everyday lives.
There’s a lovely tone to LONGLEGS, a nervy, edgy, outsiderish feeling. Hard to put your finger on.
Coralie Fargeat is the real deal. This is so, so, SO well directed. Again, like the three horrors above, a Marmite movie.
Demi Moore deserved an Oscar for this. She digs deep and puts it all out there for our viewing pleasure. But it’s tricky to win awards with horror unless you’re in a righteous moral space.
I have non-horror friends who didn’t like the final third. I think that’s when the movie played its hand and finally turned into the creature feature it really is, at heart. That final image… Yowza. Wowsers.
I love it when an artist is given enough money to do it right. THE SUBSTANCE must have taken an age to shoot, so many painfully tricky shots. Kudos!
