Eerie movies for the darker months…

Well, the weather is dark and cold- perfect time to settle in for an archetypal spooky story or two.

I caught up recently on a few of the movies that came out in the last few years I’ve been meaning to see.

 

In Fear (2013) is about a couple going away for the weekend who as night draws in seem to be trapped driving down the same country roads again and again. Reactions seem to have been partly mixed- I guess it depends what you look for in a movie. Taken completely literally (as comments by the director in interview may suggest it was intended) it doesn’t make a lick of sense- Which would usually be a dealbreaker, since to me it’s the storytelling that matters- But the atmosphere is managed so artfully well, the situation and what is happening to them so tangible, as a nightmarish dreamlike descent it felt really successful.

 

Honeymoon (2014), staying on the theme of couples, is about a recently married couple going away for their own romantic break, until odd behaviours start to surface. How well do you know your other half? How much is just neurotic over-focus, how well do we expect to know someone, and are they really who we think they are? It’s this subject that makes the film most interesting, regardless of how it eventually resolves in any single case- It’s an unusual topic, and it’s this sort of thing that good horror is really all about- Taking a novel topic that hasn’t been done to death, the little creeping ordinary fears of our world, teasing them out and writing them large. The suspense and questions build, and it’s an engaging ride.

 

It Follows (2014) takes a very simple concept- something following you, that noone else can see, that will kill you if it reaches you -and manages to evoke a ton of tension & atmosphere from it. From such a simple concept, the film builds and sustains suspense well. It’s dedication to that one central idea almost reminded me of older classic movies- it makes a couple of minor missteps, but nothing to really spoil things- and the situation really draws you in with its what-if?

3 movies, as spoiler-free as I could keep them- check them out!