Posts tagged with “mumblecore”
Let’s Talk About…The House of the Devil
Candygram.
THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2009/DVD)
From: Faulhaber, Kimberly
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 9:16 AM
To: McClelland, Brian
Subject: ‘80s nostalgia done right
So Brian! I enjoyed The House of the Devil quite a bit, in spite of the fact that I am not a fan of nostalgia, particularly the ‘80s brand. Jokes about pegged jeans make me so angry! But this was an homage without a single wink at the camera, and genuinely scary to boot. The painfully slow tension-build as our heroine Samantha (an adorable Jocelin Donahue, who has one of those pleasantly familiar faces and will hopefully start scoring better gigs than whatever the hell this is) explores the spooky house where she is “baby-sitting” an unseen elderly woman is more classic Hitchcock than ‘80s horror (where the stabbing of ladies often began before the credits rolled)—holding the audience’s attention pretty effectively. By the time we reach the climax and find out exactly what’s going on in the house, it’s a relief. Now we and Samantha know exactly what she’s dealing with (Satanists, duh) and can start the fightback portion of the plot. Make them pay, you cutie pie! Big appreciation to director Ti West for giving the people what they want—SPOILER ALERT—the bloody demise of Greta Gerwig, queen of mumblecore and nemesis of people who prefer acting that is good. Neat!
Oh. I get it.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the featured songs (including Greg Kihn and the Fixx, because college kids would have been too cool to listen to Kim Carnes) and synthy score.
Next stop on the ‘80s nostalgia tour: Hot Tub Time Machine, recently granted mutual “See It”s by Scott and Phillips? Who could have predicted it?
Lylas, Kimberly Read more »
D.I.Why?
Time for a mental health break!
HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS (DVD/2007) After watching a trailer for Noel Baumbach’s upcoming Greenberg (apparently he’s entered the male-midlife-crisis-exploration–era of his career—proceed with caution, Noel) I was curious about vaguely familiar featured actress Greta Gerwig. Apparently she’s one of the more high-profile actors from the “mumblecore” film movement—a term that immediately struck fear in my heart and dry heaves in the rest of me. Described as low budget D.I.Y. affairs with mostly improvised relationship-y dialogue by 20-somethings (and at about 2 years old, considered dead and buried by many critics), it sounds pretty much like your worst emo nightmare. But assuming there are clever participants, this could possibly be interesting, you say? You are wrong! At less than 90 minutes, Hannah Takes the Stairs, starring Gerwig as our titular, um, hero, is drudgery. I required frequent mental health breaks to make it all the way through—sighing loudly, engaging in soothing deep breathing exercises, and popping off a few pushups. I highly recommend this! (NOT the movie. It is terrible.) Read more »
