I hate horror movies with every cell of my body, for all the reasons you so wonderfully articulated. The few I saw as a child terrified me for years. (I should add that I loved Get Out and I am pretty sure that it was labeled a horror movie because white people died. ) Greek tragedy is people acting like people, just very bigly.
Hahaha, “Greek tragedy is people acting like people, just very bigly” might need to be the new tagline for your Substack! (Also, I love your take on Get Out. I’m too chicken to see it but Alison and Halle on Ruined! did a bang-up job dissecting it on their podcast.)
It's really not scary. It's a psychological thriller. There are about 10 seconds of violence and you can put your hands over your eyes. It's truly an excellent and thought-provoking movie.
I just finished it and I LURVED it. I find horror tedious (therefore I avoid for different reasons) but I was so enamored with the writing (show runner is from Parks and Rec) and acting (would follow Matthew Rhys off a cliff) and the overall good natured storyline. There are parts where I caught myself snort laughing unexpectedly, mostly from the wonderfully batshit office exchanges. Patricia and Rosemary are pure gold.
Oooh batshit office exchanges are very much my cup of tea. And LURVED is a strong endorsement coming from you. (Truth be told, I’d follow you off a cliff just for your takes on The Morning Show.) Will take a peek this weekend, probably through my fingers. Stay tuned.
Oooo, I want a report - I've not heard of this show. And I love the bit about being still mad at David for sleeping. That is a constant thing here: husband falls asleep AND snores, whilst I lay awake, mentally protecting everyone and being aware of neighbourhood shenanigans (but against my will). We are also really enjoying "The Pitt," although I can't with much gore and have to close my eyes a lot and ask to be told when it's safe to open them again.
Mentally protecting everyone is a full-time job, and I don’t think anyone appreciates just how much effort it requires! (Same with keeping tabs on neighborhood shenanigans, which is why many years ago I was at the window of our Menlo Park duplex in my nightie, watching the police take down a suspect from a restaurant robbery on our neighbor’s front lawn, while my slumbering husband rolled over, put a pillow over his head, and called me Gladys Kravitz. THE INGRATITUDE.
Watching “The Pitt” with David is kinda fun because while I’m shrieking about the gore he’s like, “Oooh, that’s a [whatever complicated medical term is for what they’re showing].” Apparently it’s like a walk down med school memory lane for him. :-)
I’m also watching the Pitt with my husband but it’s me who is like “ooh, they are criking him!” And my husband is like what? A million years ago I was an ER tech so it’s kind of a groove in my head.
I am also horror adjacent but am currently editing my latest novel, which is gothic. Therefore, I am watching more horror than I would like for genre conventions and theme.
That said, Penny Dreadful is both fantastically written, acted, and thematically/literarily rich while being scary as all get out. I am watching through my fingers for a bunch of it.
Crimson Peak is also good but whoa scary. Again, watching through the fingers.
Oooh, I want to hear more about your gothic novel please! And if you want to laugh out loud for an hour and a half, I highly recommend listening to the Crimson Peak episode on the Ruined! podcast. It’s is HILARIOUS. I will never see it (for all the reasons in I listed), but the podcast about it was epic.
Call it Jane Eyre-adjacent. I wondered what would happen to a girl in similar circumstances who makes vastly different choices than Jane. Once I started thinking about that, my characters walked into the old manor house on the moors (so to speak) and started talking! It ended up taking some twists I did not see coming. But characters reveal themselves slowly and sometimes you get a surprise or two. I’m on about draft three and hoping to have beta readers look at it soon.
Hahahaha! You made horror fun. I said I'd watch and get back to you. Watched 1 ep. Mostly, mild humor and vague dread, but the last scene...eeep. Did not like that at all. It was the setting. Some awful torturer/executioner's chair. In a creepy cellar, of course. Torture (and kidnapping and buried alive) scenes freak me tf out. Even when I know the person will escape. We stopped watching Andor for that reason. He's falsely imprisoned; his friend is being tortured. NOPE. Some things are just too painful to surmount.
Same same same with Andor. My husband and all our kids loved it. I barely made it through the first season and found it so stressful that I refused to watch season two. It’s interesting that we have the same hard line about torture and kidnapping—I just can’t.
It is BLEAK. I have a trigger about good people suffering at the hands of psychotic ones, but also, of being trapped. It is TOO MUCH. There aren't enough gentle movies and shows. (Especially good comedies.) When I find one, I eat it up.
Absolutely one hundred percent agree. From what I can tell, there are no women being followed. Which is one of the things I loved about Deadloch and Bad Sisters—the women were doing most of the following.
Dexter was, indeed, a hard no. So was Barry, which came highly recommended by multiple people as “so funny! and only a little scary!”
And yet, in spite of my better judgment, I’ll be wading into the waters of Widow’s Bay this weekend because fear of missing a cultural moment is greater than fear, period. Sigh.
It’s too droll to be scary and we’re all in, but that doesn’t mean it’s for you. Scariest thing I’ve seen? Kurosawa’s RAN, aka the Japanese King Lear, which haunted me for days. Thirty-odd years later, I still remember the horror that swamped me as every hint of goodness in the movie was mutilated or murdered. Kurosawa makes Shakespeare look like Captain Kangaroo.
“Droll” is one of my favorite flavors, and based on your endorsement (and many others), I might cautiously wade in this weekend. I’ve never seen RAN, but now I wonder if King Lear on the page might have been less terrifying to me than King Lear on the screen or on the stage (not that I’ll be finding out anytime soon, mind you :-))
It cracks me up that you have now 45 comments here.
I've watched my share of horror on screen, none of it recently. I was never willing to watch the Exorcist, but was all in on The Shining, Deliverance, Amityville Horror, Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien, Poltergeist, Deliverance, Friday the 13th. Of those, the one that got under my skin the most was the Shining. Opposite of you, I could more or less laugh off the completely absurd, non-human threats, but the ones that came in the shape of a quirky husband who was, perhaps, never dead, or the twisted sadists on a Georgia River? Those wigged me the fuck out.
As for cultural moments, lacking cable t.v. and any relative interest in serial television, I am woefully and forever out of step. I'm not sure if I've watched even one full episode of Seinfeld, Stranger Things, Mad Men, Friends, Peaky Blinders, Ted Lasso, etc., etc. I miss so many cultural references and feel a twinge of FOMO every time. Good writing has a way of winning out over the shocking for me, and it sounds like this one has that. Do report back!
I hate horror movies with every cell of my body, for all the reasons you so wonderfully articulated. The few I saw as a child terrified me for years. (I should add that I loved Get Out and I am pretty sure that it was labeled a horror movie because white people died. ) Greek tragedy is people acting like people, just very bigly.
Hahaha, “Greek tragedy is people acting like people, just very bigly” might need to be the new tagline for your Substack! (Also, I love your take on Get Out. I’m too chicken to see it but Alison and Halle on Ruined! did a bang-up job dissecting it on their podcast.)
It's really not scary. It's a psychological thriller. There are about 10 seconds of violence and you can put your hands over your eyes. It's truly an excellent and thought-provoking movie.
I just finished it and I LURVED it. I find horror tedious (therefore I avoid for different reasons) but I was so enamored with the writing (show runner is from Parks and Rec) and acting (would follow Matthew Rhys off a cliff) and the overall good natured storyline. There are parts where I caught myself snort laughing unexpectedly, mostly from the wonderfully batshit office exchanges. Patricia and Rosemary are pure gold.
Oooh batshit office exchanges are very much my cup of tea. And LURVED is a strong endorsement coming from you. (Truth be told, I’d follow you off a cliff just for your takes on The Morning Show.) Will take a peek this weekend, probably through my fingers. Stay tuned.
I eagerly await your review, regardless of how you feel about it. ❤️
My favorite synopsis: “What if Steven King wrote “Jaws” and it was funny?”
HAHAHAHA
I hate scary movies. I'm still traumatized by going to see the 1988 psychological thriller The Vanishing (original Dutch/French title: Spoorloos).
Ok I heard a breakdown of that movie on Ruined! and it was absolutely terrifying even to listen to.
I bet. It gives me the creeps just thinking about it.
Oh, I want to know! Also hate horror.
It appears that the peer pressure is winning and I may be peeking at it (through my fingers probably) this weekend. Will report back.
I've had it on my list to check out, so I look forward to hearing what you think!
Am watching Widow’s Bay and can attest it is hilarious and wonderfully written.
❤️
Oooo, I want a report - I've not heard of this show. And I love the bit about being still mad at David for sleeping. That is a constant thing here: husband falls asleep AND snores, whilst I lay awake, mentally protecting everyone and being aware of neighbourhood shenanigans (but against my will). We are also really enjoying "The Pitt," although I can't with much gore and have to close my eyes a lot and ask to be told when it's safe to open them again.
Mentally protecting everyone is a full-time job, and I don’t think anyone appreciates just how much effort it requires! (Same with keeping tabs on neighborhood shenanigans, which is why many years ago I was at the window of our Menlo Park duplex in my nightie, watching the police take down a suspect from a restaurant robbery on our neighbor’s front lawn, while my slumbering husband rolled over, put a pillow over his head, and called me Gladys Kravitz. THE INGRATITUDE.
Watching “The Pitt” with David is kinda fun because while I’m shrieking about the gore he’s like, “Oooh, that’s a [whatever complicated medical term is for what they’re showing].” Apparently it’s like a walk down med school memory lane for him. :-)
I’m also watching the Pitt with my husband but it’s me who is like “ooh, they are criking him!” And my husband is like what? A million years ago I was an ER tech so it’s kind of a groove in my head.
I can’t with horror either. But let’s watch Widow’s Bay together!
Yes please! Maybe there’s a second Cynthia-and-Irena-Watch-TV-Together essay installment in our future?
Yes please! I need Rhys to redeem himself from The Beast in Me.
I am also horror adjacent but am currently editing my latest novel, which is gothic. Therefore, I am watching more horror than I would like for genre conventions and theme.
That said, Penny Dreadful is both fantastically written, acted, and thematically/literarily rich while being scary as all get out. I am watching through my fingers for a bunch of it.
Crimson Peak is also good but whoa scary. Again, watching through the fingers.
Oooh, I want to hear more about your gothic novel please! And if you want to laugh out loud for an hour and a half, I highly recommend listening to the Crimson Peak episode on the Ruined! podcast. It’s is HILARIOUS. I will never see it (for all the reasons in I listed), but the podcast about it was epic.
Call it Jane Eyre-adjacent. I wondered what would happen to a girl in similar circumstances who makes vastly different choices than Jane. Once I started thinking about that, my characters walked into the old manor house on the moors (so to speak) and started talking! It ended up taking some twists I did not see coming. But characters reveal themselves slowly and sometimes you get a surprise or two. I’m on about draft three and hoping to have beta readers look at it soon.
Hahahaha! You made horror fun. I said I'd watch and get back to you. Watched 1 ep. Mostly, mild humor and vague dread, but the last scene...eeep. Did not like that at all. It was the setting. Some awful torturer/executioner's chair. In a creepy cellar, of course. Torture (and kidnapping and buried alive) scenes freak me tf out. Even when I know the person will escape. We stopped watching Andor for that reason. He's falsely imprisoned; his friend is being tortured. NOPE. Some things are just too painful to surmount.
Same same same with Andor. My husband and all our kids loved it. I barely made it through the first season and found it so stressful that I refused to watch season two. It’s interesting that we have the same hard line about torture and kidnapping—I just can’t.
It is BLEAK. I have a trigger about good people suffering at the hands of psychotic ones, but also, of being trapped. It is TOO MUCH. There aren't enough gentle movies and shows. (Especially good comedies.) When I find one, I eat it up.
I’m curious, too; are women being followed in this show? That’s where I draw the line. Nothing good comes from women being followed.
Absolutely one hundred percent agree. From what I can tell, there are no women being followed. Which is one of the things I loved about Deadloch and Bad Sisters—the women were doing most of the following.
I loved the first season of Bad Sisters and couldn’t watch the second, but Deadloch is new to me!
So I’m guessing Dexter was a hard no for you? 😂 I will now have to look at Widow’s Bay.
Dexter was, indeed, a hard no. So was Barry, which came highly recommended by multiple people as “so funny! and only a little scary!”
And yet, in spite of my better judgment, I’ll be wading into the waters of Widow’s Bay this weekend because fear of missing a cultural moment is greater than fear, period. Sigh.
Insist was my entry level offer. Don't make me escalate.
Ugh fine I will try this weekend but I am coming to your house in my pajamas with all my stuffed animals if it’s not everything you promised.
It’s too droll to be scary and we’re all in, but that doesn’t mean it’s for you. Scariest thing I’ve seen? Kurosawa’s RAN, aka the Japanese King Lear, which haunted me for days. Thirty-odd years later, I still remember the horror that swamped me as every hint of goodness in the movie was mutilated or murdered. Kurosawa makes Shakespeare look like Captain Kangaroo.
“Droll” is one of my favorite flavors, and based on your endorsement (and many others), I might cautiously wade in this weekend. I’ve never seen RAN, but now I wonder if King Lear on the page might have been less terrifying to me than King Lear on the screen or on the stage (not that I’ll be finding out anytime soon, mind you :-))
Do check back in and let us know what you think.
Watch it! It's not scary, but the subtle humor - top notch!
Once again, are we the same person
❤️
It cracks me up that you have now 45 comments here.
I've watched my share of horror on screen, none of it recently. I was never willing to watch the Exorcist, but was all in on The Shining, Deliverance, Amityville Horror, Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien, Poltergeist, Deliverance, Friday the 13th. Of those, the one that got under my skin the most was the Shining. Opposite of you, I could more or less laugh off the completely absurd, non-human threats, but the ones that came in the shape of a quirky husband who was, perhaps, never dead, or the twisted sadists on a Georgia River? Those wigged me the fuck out.
As for cultural moments, lacking cable t.v. and any relative interest in serial television, I am woefully and forever out of step. I'm not sure if I've watched even one full episode of Seinfeld, Stranger Things, Mad Men, Friends, Peaky Blinders, Ted Lasso, etc., etc. I miss so many cultural references and feel a twinge of FOMO every time. Good writing has a way of winning out over the shocking for me, and it sounds like this one has that. Do report back!