#spook study | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

spook-study · 1 year

Text

From Heathers to Jennifer’s Body, from The Craft to The Burning, from Carrie to Evilspeak, bullies are not something horror is want of. They litter the genre. As antagonists, as antiheroes, but most often as victims. And for good reason! It’s easy to cheer the demise of a bully. The more gruesome or wild the death, the more it is enjoyed. There’s a sense of cosmic justice, a ‘they got what they deserved’ mentality. They’re easy shorthand for inducing sympathy on behalf of the bullied, making it easier to connect and root for an underdog or outcast character. Audiences easily supplicate their own bully for whomever is shown on screen and watch as the silly fantasies of their teenage years are acted out for all to see and enjoy. Assholes are excellent horror movie fodder, particularly if the movie is going for multiple kills. There’s that…

And then there’s Piggy (2022).

There’s a special brand of cruelty associated with young women. It’s complicated and deep-seated, a slithering thing that even people involved in the exchange might not be able to catch. More than traditional bullying between boys, female bullying tends to be more insidious. Maybe that’s why female bullies tend to stick in our minds more, and why those stories remain points of fascination; Carrie is a classic for a reason, after all. There’s a certain level of cruelty between women that feels almost intimate. More intimate than getting beaten up, in any case.

Piggy, Cerdita in its native Spanish, is no exception to this rule. In fact, the movie hits all of the highlights, making it difficult at times to watch. The title of the movie and the star leave no question as to the source of the bullying. Sara, the title character’s real name, is fat. Perhaps one of, if not the most common thing someone can be bullied for. This group of girls snicker behind her back, or just at the edge of her line of sight. They feign politeness in front of her parents before uploading cruel videos with even crueler descriptions. Their eyes are mocking, without a hint of compassion, and there’s nothing quite like knowing that people hate you just because. And, because no one is being physically harmed, there’s almost nothing to be done about it. This is made worse by the fact that one of the bullies, Claudia, was once a childhood friend. Both Sara and Claudia still have their homemade friendship bracelets from those sandbox days. But even Claudia is one false step away from being bullied herself, teased by her friends for even her past connection with Sara. It’s beyond a shadow of a doubt that Sara is more than miserable, potentially even suicidal, though it’s never mentioned. If it had been a different kind of movie, maybe.

Being quietly decried is one thing, being maligned and sneered at are horrible, life-ruining things, but then things are taken a step further. Sara goes to the pool alone, after everyone else in her community has left, a thing done in private due to her discomfort with her body and how she looks in her swimsuit. The girls pass by on their way to a party, and can’t help but berate Sara in the pool, making fun of her size, the way she looks, the way she moves, even the way she tries to hide. They force her underwater with a pool skimmer, almost drowning her.

But there are worse things.

They take her towel. They take her pack, with her phone. They take her clothes. They leave her to walk the long distance home in only her bikini, completely alone. This would be a terrifying situation for any girl, but the fact that Sara is fat adds to it. Harassment and violence are much easier to perform when the victim is considered on the outside of society. Still, Sara has no other options. She begins the long walk, skin burning under the sun, arms crossed, desperately trying to cover her body. She is made fun of and accosted by a random group of men passing by in a car, not offering her help, or a ride, and steering her off the main thoroughfare. She’s sobbing, she’s miserable, she hurt, and she’s humiliated. It’s a wonder she’s walking at all and not crumpled on the ground. And then she sees it. Her old friend Claudia, now her mildly reluctant bully, has been thrown in the back of a van. Bloodied and terrified, she slams her hands against the window, begging Sara for help. Frightened and not knowing what to do, Sara freezes. Only to have the Stranger, the Assassin in the English translation, drop a towel on the ground outside for her.

And then he drives off.

While female bullying can belie a certain level of intensity and carry almost sexual connotations, they left her practically nude, after all, the bathing suit covering even less than underclothes, it is rarely seen how that closeness would extend in the opposite direction. How would the personal attacks be returned? What does the opposite of this kind of bullying look like? In Piggy, it looks like sorrow, fear, and most of all, indifference. If these girls sunk their claws in and tore at the most vulnerable and sensitive areas of Sara’s very existence, how poetic that it is her lack of passion that abets the kidnap. A towel is now worth more than trying to save a life.

This level of connection trumps even the undoubtedly lifelong dance Sara has had with her bullies. What could be more intimate than a shared crime? How closely two beings must entangle in order to have both participated in lawlessness and violence. To have committed, enabled, and kept that moment to themselves. This man, who would kidnap and kill young women, was the only person to offer Sara even a modicum of kindness. To offer her help when she so needed it. How desperate must her heart have been that a stranger, holding her bosom friend in the back of his van ostensibly to kill, offering her a bloody towel was the most kindness she had ever been shown. Here was one of the girls who had thrust Sara into the situation in which she found herself. A girl who so callously caused her pain with the thoughtless cruelty of youth. A girl who had stood there with her friends, who spat the word “Piggy” again and again, who oinked at Sara, and did nothing. A young woman who had taken Sara’s towel, leaving her bare and exposed. Normally, an audience would cheer. Would say those girls were going to get what was coming to them, good riddance, and whatever happens they deserve it. But that feeling never comes. In its stead, there is only greater sorrow for Sara’s plight.

Sara, unfortunately, has no relief no matter where she goes. Not only is she bullied in her social life, her mother is a domineering, seemingly uncaring woman who speaks over her, bosses her around, and often calls Sara names herself. Her father does nothing, her younger brother only adds his own mocking. When it finally comes out that the missing girls bullied her extensively and called her “piggy,” her mother stands up for her until the minute they are home, where she feeds Sara a plate of salad and tells her the way to solve the issue for her to lose weight. It is intense performative care, going through the public rites of motherhood and then rescinding that care in private. Though she herself and her husband are also fat, it is only Sara who is deprived of the family meal, surely making her feel even more an outsider in her own home. She sneaks sweets and snacks when she can, she stress eats, she takes comfort in food, what little comfort it can bring, and her mother takes even that from her.

In Piggy, the desire to be seen and accepted transcends beyond normal social boundaries in the extreme. When Sara runs into the Assassin again, the two hide together, as she has continued to keep the secret of what she saw and what happened. They are close, face to face, staring at one another, his left hand over her mouth, a knife in his right. His left hand drops, and there is nothing more than a breath of space between them. It’s sexual, it’s tense, and, daringly, it’s romantic. Alone in the world, Sara clings to it, the only offer of intimacy she’s ever had.

Piggy is a fantastic and captivating movie. Often, killers are seen as attractive only after the movie has come out and some group of fans lay their hands on the subject, like Jason. Others, like Ghostface, are given a sexual nature that showcases their creepiness. Piggy has neither of those. The Assassin is not a particularly handsome man. His violence is brutal, unforgiving, and torturous; yet it is he whom our heroine finds attractive. What could be more evocative as maintaining such a tenuous and frightening relationship? Heartbreakingly, it seems to be the only positive relationship Sara has, or maybe has ever had. He may be evil to others, but to her he has only ever been silently understanding. The movie shows that her pain is profound, and that is what makes the situation believable.

The ending is a doozy, and one that should remain unspoiled, but you won’t be able to deny the anguish that comes from the battle between what is right but harder for oneself, against what is wrong but what one desires. What are people willing to forgive, to look past, when offered the right amount of attention and care? Where is the line drawn when those around you stand only to hurt and harm you, while the other stands to hurt and harm them? How much pain must be laid before revenge is justified? Will you cheer if the bullies end up killed? Piggy allows us to contemplate morality in a deeply personal and intense way. It strikes to the core. Who deserves to be forgiven? What would you, as a viewer, forgive? Bullies will always be a staple in horror, that won’t ever change. As long as there are underdogs, there are bullies. Bullies are there to be killed and for audiences to cheer at their death.

Piggy asks more.

It asks, if you were in Sara’s position, what would you do? How far would you go? And it never stops asking. It demands you to think, to feel, to fear.

What made Piggy so great was that it brings to the focal point things that horror can overlook. It’s easy for horror to slide past morality or reflection or grief. Hell, it can even overlook pain, at least the emotional type. Piggy grabs you from the very first frame and never lets you go, making demands of you from the first minute. The dread surrounding the story feels personal and real; real young women and men truly do go through that kind of horrendous bullying. It’s barbarous, vicious, and deadly. Piggy confronts the audience with that and puts them through an emotional wringer of right and wrong, kind and cruel. Piggy is a movie that aches.

Well paced, well written, and well filmed, Piggy rounds out its strong story with a powerhouse performance from Laura Galán, without whom the movie may well have fallen flat on its face. The oily nature of the movies makes it slick and hot. It might not be the prettiest movie you see this year, it definitely won’t be the goriest, but there’s a tang and a grit to Piggy that will have you rolling it over in your mind for days to come. Piggy is a movie with weight, with staying power, and, most importantly, with passion. You would never guess it was based off a fifteen minute short film, as each second feels full and earned. Unlike other short film adaptations, Piggy doesn’t feel drawn, slow, or slipshod. It feels rich and deep, a staunch departure from the wafer thin story and writing that usually accompanies extended shorts. This was a story that deserved a full length feature, and the horror world is all the better for it having happened.

Impactful, stunningly acted, incredibly culturally and socially relevant, Piggy (2022) is a movie of its time and for its time. I can’t wait to see what director and screenwriter Carlota Pereda will show us next. 5/5*

#piggy #cerdita #2022 #horror #movies #review #film review #spook study #writing #5/5 #carlota pereda #my writing #movie review #horror movies #modern horror #Spanish #long posts about horror

57 notes · View notes

spook-study · 9 months

Text

Can Nic Cage “Nic Cage” without being able to Nic Cage?

Hot on the heels of the return of the ‘killer robot’ movie, Willy’s Wonderland (2021) seized the moment in not one, not two, but three ways. First, they capitalized on the cult status return of their lead actor, second, they created a camp movie in the middle of horror’s current obsession with bleakness, and third, they did all this when "Five Night’s at Freddy’s" (FNAF) was truly reaching its zeitgeist.

Many people went out of their way to see this movie simply because Nicolas Cage starred. After reintroducing himself with a bang in Panos Cosmatos’ remarkably feverish Mandy (2018), he had reminded us that he was indeed a powerhouse performer, all without losing that manic intensity he became known for. So when Willy’s Wonderland came out, a movie about Nicolas Cage beating a bunch of possessed robots to death, suffice to say everyone went in expecting exactly that. But, to rephrase the first question: can Nicolas Cage perform in the style that he’s known for without (spoilers) having any lines?

As evidenced by the movie, we can confirm the Nic Cage Experience™ doesn't need to be accompanied by lines. He does just fine without.

The Janitor, the only name given to his character, manages to both walk his way through his insane night like it’s just another Tuesday, and go totally crazy when the situation calls for it. This balance makes for a captivating and enjoyable performance from Cage, both allowing him to play to his audience and play for the movie. There's a lot of realism in his performance, which for this movie seems almost antithetical. And yet, what is a good horror movie without the actors really living it? The Janitor was told to clean house, and clean house he did; going crazy is just part of the job.

The Janitor being left to his own devices, the plot and body fodder are provided by a competent group of young actors in classic horror movie roles. The sexually active girl and her boyfriend, the boy in love, the best buddies, the final girl. Peripheral adults flank the plot, but just because they’re grown and have struck a deal with the eponymous Willy, who is now possessing the body of a giant animatronic weasel, doesn’t mean they’re safe. These obvious tropes are played up not only by the actors, but by the script itself. Each word from final girl Liv is #inspirational, delivered with the melodrama of a daytime soap. The exaggerated performances and heightened reality of the script make this movie a total blast.

The downside of this is that there are many moments that feel redundant. They split up, kids have sex in the creepiest place, the lost puppy love interest is self sacrificing and over dramatic in his unrequited love, Liv pursues her ideals beyond the realm of reason. Despite knowing full well what has gone on, and is still going on in the arcade, each of the teens makes the stupidest decisions after entering the building. You'd think they'd be focused on getting out, or just not getting killed, but even that seems to be expecting too much of them. There's horror movie stupid, but the young characters in Willy's Wonderland are on a whole other stratosphere of idiotic.

The performances are passable for the most part, though there's barely any screen time spared for character development. Six teens, two sheriffs, one mechanic, and the latest owner of Willy's are all as flat as cardboard. The primary opposite of Cage, actress Emily Tosta's dogged nobility and bleeding heart final girl that she and director Kevin Lewis created rides the edge of a bad performance. While The Janitor has no lines, Liv picks up the slack; not always to great effect. Maybe five "hope speeches" is one or two too many, not only for the film but for Miss Tosta as well. There are only so many ways one can say "we have to do this!" Just ask Sarah Michelle Gellar.

It seems Willy’s Wonderland was founded on the back of its star. Rather than a movie in its own right, it mostly feels like a vehicle for Nic Cage. The plot feels built up around the idea of Cage's Janitor killing possessed animatronics rather than the thrust of the movie. There's precious little story to be had. This is where Willy’s falls flat. When watching a horror movie, you might eagerly anticipate the next kill, but everything else should be working in tandem to create a fully enjoyable experience from beginning to end. There’s being on the edge of your seat for the next robo-brawl, and looking at your watch waiting for it to come. It's unfortunate that the viewing experience contained much of the latter.

At 88 minutes long with eight animatronics to kill and a few dead teens (and adults) along the way, it’s amazing how Willy's managed to have dull moments at all. Averaging out, that's one kill, robot or otherwise, every six minutes or so, not including flashbacks. Yet, the thin plot and difficult-to-match performance of Cage left the screentime spent on the other cast feeling flat and boring. The other actors pushed for the melodrama, which was a smart choice when trying to share a movie with Cage, but the tone was off in comparison to The Janitor's.

On top of that difficulty, the tension was severely diminished by the large cast of animatronics, which forced the action sequences back to back. Make no mistake, the thrill and fun of Willy's lies in those sequences. But as a movie, this ultra-fast pacing did no favors to the other characters that were charged with attempting to build out a plot when the premise of Willy's amounts to "and then he kills the robots." Don’t expect the dread and fear that is foundational to FNAF, there is little time for anticipation. What could have been a hair-raising movie full of dark corners and jump scares ends up being an exciting romp with little fright to be found, despite its best efforts. There was just too little to build on and too much to do.

Even with these shortcomings, Willy’s Wonderland feels like it did exactly what it set out to do. The movie is fun and violent. Did it do anything wild and amazing? Not really. Will it be your favorite horror movie? A hard maybe. Will you put it on in the background of your Halloween party? Probably!

Without a doubt, the movie made good on its promises of silliness and Nic Cage doing what he does best. It’s a casual watch that one might enjoy seeing alongside their good friend Mary Jane, or with a couple of beers in their system. While not the first to cash in on the evil animatronic craze, check out The Banana Splits Movie (2019) for another round of beloved childhood characters gone wrong, Willy’s Wonderland certainly earned its keep.

It’s exciting to see the return of the killer robot and how it’s being interpreted in the modern day. From Metropolis (1927) to Gog (1951) to The Terminator (1984), and now Willy’s Wonderland, the deadly robot will always hold a special place in the horror canon. Whether possessed by the souls of serial killers or an AI turned rogue, humanity prevailing over machine will be a story told from here to kingdom come. The triumph of the will is twofold. There’s is the triumph of humanity over technology, a story that ensures and reinforces the idea that the best and most powerful form of life is organic, and there’s the success over a being that is supposedly, and in most cases is canonically, smarter than you.

With the way of the world as it is, and the all too dangerous territory the entertainment industry is headed into, it’s no wonder movies like Willy’s pop to mind. Perhaps there is nothing more satisfying right now than seeing The Janitor, a man just trying to do his job, literally demolish the machines that would take his life. The advent of the AI movie is certainly nothing new, though it is distinctly having a moment. While in most instances the solution to the AI problem is a bit more cerebral, there’s no outwitting to be done here. There are no guns or programmers involved in this mess. No one to hack into a system or rewire a relay. This is a killer robot movie for the Everyman. The Janitor hacks, smashes, kicks, punches, and rips these things to pieces. Who would have thought tearing a robot apart with your bare hands would be a relatable fantasy only two years after the movie’s release?

It’s a good enough looking movie, the design sometimes outpacing the execution, and there’s clearly a bunch of love put into it. Anyone who’s ever had a nightmare after visiting Chuck-E-Cheese’s will certainly feel vindicated. The colors move well between the 70s retro look of the Willy’s Wonderland arcade fun zone design and the more neon and vibrant tones used to signify the modern day, the contrast making it visually interesting. The job taking place overnight, the darkness is certainly used to cover some of the movie's visual blunders, and the shaky camera fight sequences can cover a multitude of shortcomings. Still, clever camera work aside, Willy's was obviously filmed on a low budget. Some of the effects will undoubtedly leave you wanting and probably wishing there were fewer evil animatronics. It wouldn’t have hurt the movie to cut out one or two, if only to increase the amount of time and care that could have been spent on the others.

The animatronic cast of characters are all strong, design-wise, and feel just adjacent enough to reality. No one would use a weasel as a children’s restaurant-arcade. Kids get called ‘weasel’ on the playground before they get pushed down. The other characters also feel not-quite-right in the same way. An alligator, a chameleon, an ostrich, a turtle, a gorilla, and the completely off-themed knight and siren. There’s little time to get to know each one of them, which in theory one could do seeing as each is possessed by the soul of a killer. There definitely could have been a bit more about the dead inhabitants, but with so many of them there simply wasn’t time. Is it enough to say they were all horrible child killers? Yes. Could there have been more said? Also yes. Does it really matter when Nic Cage is going buck wild on eight killer robots? That’s up to you to decide.

While it certainly won’t be the best entry in this niche, this movie has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. It's a silly, straight-forward movie with few frills and plenty of robo-killing action. Whether or not it's your birthday, Willy's Wonderland (2021) wants you to have fun! And you absolutely will.

3/5*

#Willy's Wonderland #2021 #horror #spook study #movie review #review #long posts about horror #movies #film #my writing #3/5

8 notes · View notes