Whatchu Watchin?

[Jumpin]

Watched a few Christmas films.
The Shining, The Night Before, Tokyo Godfathers, and Dear Santa.

The Shining, a slow burn dark comedy horror film taking place across the winter in a hotel. The slow maddening of an author because there’s no beer or TV (or something like that). Often counted among the very best horror films of all time despite winning Razzies by the critics when it first came out.
The Night Before, a comedy film starring Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie, and Gordon Levit go on a drug fuelled adventure through New York City while seeking out the mysterious awesome etc New Years Eve Party of the year.
Tokyo Godfathers, a comedy-drama anime film by the legendary Satoshi Kon, who is known for his twisted creative films with Hitchcockian elements - Tokyo Godfathers by comparison is normal - following a traditional Kishotenketsu plot structure where three homeless people, a man, a trans woman, and a teenage girl find a baby in the trash.
Dear Santa, a magical story where Christmas wishes come true. Only, it’s dyslexic kid who accidentally wrote To Satan instead of Santa. Jack Black stars - except his demonic voice sounds more like Kevin Smith. It’s a dark comedy/comedy film that kind of satirizes the genre without straying too far from the conventions - just inserting Satan into the role of Christmas spirit.

Next up, Ravenous - a dark comedy horror film set in the 19th century American frontier, where a party of soldiers head up into the mountain passes in the western mountain ranges of North America to camp for the winter. They respond to a missing person’s report by cold and starving settler who has lost his entire party in the wilderness. The film revolves around a demonic curse from indigenous folklore called Wendigo - where consuming the flesh of other people allows the Wendigo to gain their power. The film stars Guy Pierce and Robert Carlyle, with some unfortunate co-stars like David Arquette and Jeffrey Jones - I mean, they still fit the roles well in this film.

The Thing - the 1982 John Carpenter remake of a classic 1959s horror film. This one stars Kurt Russel and Keith David, along with a talented ensemble. They, again, are a party living in a wintery fortress - well, this one an Antarctic research station in the 1980s. This time a creature that takes the form of others, and can mimic their actions. I always find this one is great to pair up with the 1979 version of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (starring Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartright, and Leonard Nimoy) - but it’s not for this season. If you’re doing an alien themed horror film weekend: Alien, The Thing, Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, and Aliens - in that order (and Veronica Cartright co-stars in two of those) - if you’re into art-film, then 2001: A Space Odyssey should go first, before Alien, as it also sets the stylistic tones that inspired a lot in Alien, and in turn The Thing takes cues from Alien. And 2001 has horror elements as well - also a heavy influence on the fantastic 1980s Sci-Fi TV show Babylon 5 (which was actually made in the 1990s, but… you know).