Last week I posted about the news that Richard Kelly's latest flop The Box scored horribly with moviegoers - apparently it got F's across the board, from toddlers to grandmas, everybody just fucking hated the thing. This made me feel bad, because while I did not like the film either it hardly seemed as worthy of that sort of ire. So many other movies that come down the pike are worse! Made by morons without a single redeeming quality. Like last night I was subjected for perhaps the third brutalizing time to the trailer for that "Jackie Chan becomes a spy babysitter" movie and... just... are you fucking kidding me? UGH! Yet somehow that will inevitably test higher than The Box - hell it'll probably be a hit! I mourn for this world.Anyway! I got distracted there for a second. The Box stunk but it didn't stink that bad. So then I'm skimming through the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly and I see this lil' factoid (and I couldn't find it on their website so no link) - they named three other films in recent years that've also managed to get an F grade from audiences. One is Darkness, the 2002 horror film which I have never seen with Anna Paquin and Lena Olin that's directed by Jaume Balagueró, the director of the fantastic [REC]. And the other two?
William Friedkin's Bug and Greg McLean's Wolf Creek.
Which I consider to be two of the finest horror films
not just of the decade, but ever. Ever. Great films both.
So all this says to me is poor lil' audiences don't like it
when a movie makes them feel bad. Awww. Pussies.
So fuck this noise - these moviegoer grades are nonsense.
The Box still stinks, but its F is irrelevant.
Even more than I thought.
And I wanna see this movie Darkness now.
Which I consider to be two of the finest horror films
not just of the decade, but ever. Ever. Great films both.
So all this says to me is poor lil' audiences don't like it
when a movie makes them feel bad. Awww. Pussies.
So fuck this noise - these moviegoer grades are nonsense.
The Box still stinks, but its F is irrelevant.
Even more than I thought.
And I wanna see this movie Darkness now.
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11 comments:
darkness is one of my favorite horror films ever. i'm not sure if the weinstein brothers fucked with the american cut or not, but the european cut is a flawless haunted house movie. i think i remember hearing they released this in the us pg13. that's ridiculous. make sure you see the untouched by the weinsteins version.
I agree with Wolf Creek. "Bug" on the other hand, i can see why it got an F. Not to say that everyone hated it, but its a different type of horror movie and not everyones cup of tea. I would almost compare it to a play instead of a movie.
Thanks for the heads-up on that Michael, I will def. seek it out then.
Not sure if you''re aware or not, Eli, but Bug was a play before it was a film. And I do think that even though Friedkin opened it up some it's still pretty obvious, its stage roots. But I don't think it hurts this particular story so I'm okay with it.
Two things to consider:
1) Wolf Creek was released in the U.S. on Christmas day. That context explains a lot.
b) In many cases, people hate movies because the films have been grossly misrepresented in ads or mis-marketed in general.
Interesting, Culture Snob. Darkness was also released on Christmas in the US. The Weinstein's sure know how to counter program.
Oh man, I always forget that the dumb Weinsteins released WC on Xmas! God they're such morons. I mean, there's counter-programming and then there's jabbing someone in the face with a stick. Good point, Culture Snob.
No one ever accused the Weinsteins of being subtle.
Wolf Creek was derided by many as torture porn in Australia, but it took a whole heap of money. Many people I know, however, hate it without really having watched it, because they hate that kind of movie. Fair enough if it's not your thing, but if you haven't actually sat down, watched and opened yourself up to appreciating it, I don't think your opinion can really be taken seriously. One of my fav horror films also.
Bug, I haven't seen. Darkness, I haven't seen.
And yes, Wolf Creek on Christmas Day in the States struck me as a travesty too.
I saw "Darkness" but, for the life of me, I can't remember whether I liked it or not. I guess that isn't a good sign.
"Bug" is brilliant but they did a horrible job with the ad campaign. It's nothing like they advertised and I think that annoyed people.
Darkness: heavily edited for the PG rating (took my nephews to see it) and it showed.
Bug: good paranoia flick, but a little too long
Wolf Creek: Think I saw it, but can't remember the plot
Never seen Darkness, and Wolf Creek I watched half of, had technical difficulties then decided I just wasn't in the mood to watch some nice young people get brutally carved up - I was having a bad week - and the main impression I got from it was that the brunette was hot. So, some other time, then.
I love Bug though. I even got it for my friend for her birthday as a good-but-not-scary horror that she would be able to watch, and would hopefully enjoy the fantastic acting, since she likes acting.
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