Last Saturday, I was watching something on youtube and a trailer came up for Cursed Films, a documentary about horror films on Shudder. It caused a conversation between me and Tabby and that led us to watch Halloween. The original 1978 film. I’ve seen it before, but Tabby hadn’t.

I will never forget Tabby’s shock that Michael Myers was just a child in the opening scene of the film. The opening is from a first person perspective as Michael stalks his own home and kills his sister. Spoilers, maybe. The camera then switches to a third person showing Michael on his front lawn, knife in hand. I knew what was going on before I’d even seen it the first time, so it was never a shock to me and I took it for granted. Tabby’s shock just proves it’s better to go in blind. The story then jumps 15 years into the future and Michael Myers is back to stalk three teenage girls on halloween. Even though it is 42 years old and some parts are date, the whole film does a very good job at creating a chilling atmosphere with, especially since it had such a low budget. One of the best horror films of all time with one of the most iconic scores as well. A film with an influence that is still felt today.

The next film we watched was the 2nd part in the Unbreakable trilogy, Split. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting with this film. I wanted to see if when it first came out, but thought I needed to see Unbreakable first. I finally watched Unbreakable a couple of weeks back and absolutely loved it. Split had a lot to live up to and it more than does that. James McAvoy is absolutely fantastic and is so creepy throughout. He plays Kevin, AKA The Hoard who has at least 23 personalities. Each one is dinstinct and you can tell whose in control just based on the way McAvoy holds his body. The film is gripping throughout and very unsettling. I really enjoyed it, not as much as Unbreakable and it was a little long in places, but it was very good. Next week, we will watch Glass and finish of the trilogy.

A few weeks back we were watching a film that I borrowed from my mum. It was either, Florence Foster Jenkins or Happy Death Day. I can’t remember which, but before the film there was a trailer for Denial starting Rachel Weisz. I’d never heard of the film, but it looked good from the trailer. We got round to watching it this weekend. A true story about a trial between historians. David Irving sues Deborah Lipstadt for libel. It becomes a case of trying to prove whether the holocaust happened or not. It’s stuns me that there are people like David Irving in the world and scary that there are people who believe him. The film does a good job at showing the horrors of the second world war. There is one scene where people are clawing at the door inside the gas chamber that kind of comes out of nowhere and is a horrific image that I think will stay with me for a long time. It’s a film that is worth watching and shows that there there is a frightening amount of evil in this world.

Next week I have tickets for Tenet. A film that I’ve been really looking forward to since I first saw the trailer. I have a love/hate relationship with Christopher Nolan. I thought Dunkirk was a cold film, that looks good but there was no heart. I love Batman Begins, Dark Knight, Insomnia and Memento. All very good films. Didn’t think much to The Prestige. Inception is one of the most overrated films of all time and Dark Knight Rises is absolute trash though, one of the only 3 films that I’ve ever hated (along with A Quiet Place and IT Chapter 2). I’ve never seen Intersteller or Following. I have Intersteller on DVD so will get round to it at some point.

I’m nervous about going to the cinema at the moment, with all honesty. I might cancel the tickets before the time comes. I haven’t really left the house since April apart from to see my mum a few times. I think staying inside has made me more fearful of going out. I’m trying to push myself, just so I can get used to a new kind of normal. I’m sure everyone feels the same to some extent.

Other than that, this weekend’s films will be Glass and The Invisible Man. I really wanted to see The Invisible Man in the cinema before lockdown, but being able to see it now will hopefully be as good. I’ve enjoyed Unbreakable and Split, so hopefully Glass is a fittting finale to the trilogy.

Thanks for reading, and until next time,

Ashley