Sad, Lonely Times – STARFISH (2018)

There is so much I want to say about Starfish (2018) that I am feeling overwhelmed by it… please just give me a moment to gather my thoughts… here, let’s play the trailer in the meantime:

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

I watched this trailer this morning (thank you again, Mania, for your IG post) and I promised myself I would watch the film T-O-N-I-G-H-T no matter what and, I kid you not, I found myself thinking about it a few times during work and was anticipating coming home to finally get sucked into the character’s sad and lonely world.

And what a sad and lonely world it was! Starfish tells the story of Aubrey as she navigates grief due to the passing of her friend (illness), her own failed romantic relationship (cheated on her husband), and the end of the world (mysterious portal let monsters into our dimension). Even though the entire movie was saturated with symbolism, it was grounded with basic human emotions and for that reason, and that reason only, I can tell you that I fell in love with the character and her journey.

When Aubrey breaks into her late friend’s home after the funeral, she willingly isolates from the world and removes herself from reality (or does she? insert evil grin) to deal head-on with her loss and her regret. Regret is a huge ‘monster’ living inside her and she manages it with music (music! queue Sigur Ros and 65 Days of Static).

Aubrey is not different from any of us, she is a woman who made a few mistakes along the way and, due to terrible timing, she was not able to ‘be there’ for her friend when she needed her. Life moved on and what had to happen, happened. Aubrey thought of herself as a bad wife and a bad friend and carried that with her, to the point that when she was ‘confronted’ by her dead friend as to why she was pulling away from the world, she said it was because she could not forgive herself, to what her friend ‘reminded’ her that she had to do what made her happy…

[Side note: Even though there were killing alien monsters all throughout the movie they were not the focus of it, they were simply symbolic adversaries ‘guiding’ the main character in her depressive episode and in her journey towards healing. If it wasn’t for the self-reflective side of the movie, then it would have been a regular Horror movie with monsters, jump-scares, gore, etc. Just FYI.]

I have not mentioned an important element of the story –the tapes. The tapes helped Aubrey ‘get out’ of her funk by making her leave the house in order to find them all across the desolate town. You see, the tapes had special ‘messages’ about the portal hidden in the songs, but the tapes were scattered all over town by the dead friend; when Audrey ventured into the ‘apocalyptic snowstorm’ town, she dressed up with her ‘armor’ to protect herself. (Symbolism, shmbolism.)

If the presence of symbolism had not been enough at this point, the ending really knock it out of the park. Okay, before I say goodbye and leave you with the last full seven minutes of the movie which were perfect btw, I would like to say that it was so cathartic seeing a character struggle with complicated human emotions because it reminded me that no matter how lonely I might feel sometimes, there is probably someone out there who might be struggling just like me, and that, my Horror friend, is healing in itself.

In Love and Fear,

-Marath

© 2016-2019

Came for the Gravy, Stayed for the Lasers – ALIEN ABDUCTION: INCIDENT IN LAKE COUNTY (1998)

Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the States and, girlfriend, what a feast it was for me! I am low-key but actually high-key #blessed for all the real relationships in my life and I’m forever grateful for it. So yes, the food was great, the company was excellent, and so was the Horror I watched. Enter Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998) which took place during a Thanksgiving Day.

This low-budget tv movie about aliens was done in a found footage & documentary style and was broadcasted in 1998, one year before The Blair Witch Project (1999), and that, for some reason, seemed like important information to disclose. When it comes to alien movies, I can confidently say this one was really interesting to watch even though I originally decided to give it a go—for the first time ever—purely because I knew that the story took place during Thanksgiving Day and I was just in the mood for some turkey vibes; I can confirm with you that I went from, Yeah, let’s watch this cute little movie to, Damn, what’s gonna happen to the McPhersons!?

The McPherson family was just chillaxing, ready to sit down and eat when suddenly there was a power outage to which the men of the house went outside to investigate and, right there and then, aliens! But not just any aliens, they were aliens with lasers! OMG! Aggressive aliens! Shook!

Tommy McPherson was the one recording the whole thing and it was amusing to see (and to listen to) the perspective of a teenage boy during a trying time like an alien home invasion… maybe it was just me but this found footage style really worked with the Midwestern family story because it organically added a layer of realism to it. Well, that and the fact that Tommy’s tape was ‘found’ by authorities after the entire family went missing and it was reviewed and discussed by a board of people (government, scientist, alleged abductees, and everyone in between) whose interest relied on finding out if the tape was ‘real’ or made up and whether the family was indeed ‘abducted’ or not.

I loved the movie, I really did, and I would like to encourage you to watch it if you are a little curious about it. By the way, IMDb said that the director’s cut was 91 minutes long and distributed on video in Europe—you can actually purchase the vhs tape, but not the dvd or a legitimate digital rental—and even though the longer version had a different ending to the *original* 45 minute tv version I found and watched on YouTube, I can still say that the way in which things ended for the family was super satisfying. #IwantToBelieve

Tommy: Shit.

Mom: What?

Tommy: My battery's almost dead.

Mom: Oh, finally.

Tommy: I have another one in my bag. Just a minute.

In Love and Fear,

-Marath

© 2016-2019

Yes to YAZ! - Se7en (1995)

Se7en (1995) has been one of my favorite movies for over two decades—always present, always there, reminding me of simpler days—and as a Thank you to it for bringing me joy when I most needed it, including on this past month which was full of important life lessons, I would like to share with you, my horror fam, my top 5 Yes to YAZ! list of all the things I love about the film:

5. Somerset – His wisdom, introspection, and well-mannered attitude offering comfort to those surrounding him in that dreary and maddening city full of crime and apathy.

4. The notebooks – Each one of them being unique-looking (and ASMR-inducing) pieces of art.

3. The title cards – It was so satisfying seeing the days of the week coming one by one. (I am a sucker for well-thought-out graphic design.)

2. The seven sins – Such a basic concept executed so very well in both the immediacy of the story (hello gruesome death scenes with disturbing writing on the wall) and the ambiance element to it all which was the unknown presence of serial killer John Doe.

1. The Partners – The interaction between a veteran Homicide Detective on the verge of retirement, and a rookie all too eager to prove his worth, gave place to the unlikely friendship that was fundamental to solving each piece of the puzzle; without Somerset’s knowledge and years of experience (and connections), and without Mills’ know-it-all attitude and energy (and street smarts), neither one of them would have come close to seeing the ‘big picture’ plan that was John Doe’s pseudo preaching on the human race. For Somerset and Mills it was patience and trust which allowed them to succeed.

Bonus Point – The Chief of the SWAT team because OMG look at him! (Damn you my attraction to men in uniform…)

In Love and Fear,

-Marath

© 2016-2019