READERS' CHOICE #25: EVIL DEAD II (1987)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

6

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, many times, although I'm not totally sure when the first time would have been. Probably in university, but maybe in high school

BEST SEQUENCE

Ash vs. his own hand, especially when it's still attached to his arm. Honourable mention to the laughing scene, as well as the sequence when we see what Ash decides to replace his hand with

BEST LINE

"Groovy"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

88%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Less a continuation than an outright reimagining, Sam Raimi transforms his horror tale into a comedy of terrors -- and arguably even improves on the original formula."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Ash Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack."
DIRECTOR
Sam Raimi

MAIN CAST

Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley

THOUGHTS

• We're here to rate movies based on how thrilling and scary they are, but I do want it known how much I love this movie. I've seen it many times, and I still watch it with a big smile on my face for the whole duration
• The action is hilariously slapsticky, the stop motion is creative and fun to watch, and the gore is ridiculously over-the-top, but is any of it all that scary? Nah, not really. To be fair to Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, though, a lot of the choices they made as director and actor make it clear that scaring us wasn't their only goal. Even the jump scares are more about comic timing than anything else
• Bruce Campbell is absolutely delightful in this, and it should be emphasized that his performance is largely a one-man show for the first 35 minutes. He's charismatic. He's remarkably committed, especially when it comes to the physical stuff, throwing himself all over that cabin and beating himself up with his own hand. And, against all odds and despite the movie's tongue-in-cheek tone, I find him pretty convincing as a guy who's being driven insane. Sometimes it's surprising to think about how such a talented, watchable actor hasn't had a more mainstream career, but then again, the Evil Dead franchise has a pretty unique vibe that maybe wouldn't carry over to other styles of movie
• Side note, when did Ashley fall out of fashion as a name for boys? I've never met a male Ashley (but I have crossed paths with a few female ones)
• Side side note, I love the movie poster, and I have strong memories of seeing it on the VHS cover at Blockbuster back in the day, before I was even brave enough to watch scary movies
• So if Evil Dead II may not be the scariest movie I've ever seen, I do think it's perhaps the quintessential Evil Dead experience. That's the cool thing about this franchise, though. You have five different movies that are all fairly distinct from each other, so you really do get a different viewing experience with each one. And having said that, with no further ado...

MINI REVIEW: THE EVIL DEAD (1981)

• Thrill Score: 8.5/10
• That's right, baby, we're doing the whole franchise!
• This movie was extremely controversial when it was released. It received an X rating in the US, and it was outright banned in several countries, including the UK. It has since been re-rated NC-17 for "substantial horror violence and gore". Evil Dead II was originally released unrated, by the way
• And I think all this handwringing is pretty silly, to be honest. The special effects are so charmingly janky, and the blood and gore are so ridiculously excessive, that I find it hard to understand how anyone could be legitimately disturbed by these movies (which is not to ignore a specific scene involving trees and vines that is legitimately disturbing, but for other reasons)
• However, despite the janky excessiveness of it all, The Evil Dead does have a more serious tone and I do find it more effective as a horror movie, especially thanks to the super creepy makeup effects, some of the more convincing shots of violence (e.g. pencil in the ankle), and some pretty great performances (although the guy who plays Scotty is awful)
• Again, Bruce Campbell is excellent in this, although this Ash does have a bit less personality, and a lot less bravado and cockiness than in the later movies. I could seriously watch Campbell get thrown around a room all day. His girlfriend, Linda, is also the creepiest Deadite by far
• The Evil Dead movies occupy kind of a unique space in horror, combining aspects of slasher and zombie movies, especially the parts of a zombie movie when people start getting infected but haven't turned yet, and when you can't tell exactly who will go evil or when
• Finally, The Evil Dead got a big boost from a guy who's been mentioned numerous times in my reviews. Stephen King saw an early screening and he loved it. He described it as the "most ferociously original film of the year," and his support ultimately helped get the movie distributed

MINI REVIEW: ARMY OF DARKNESS (1992)

• Thrill score: 4/10
• Well, I must admit, I just don't like this movie very much. I admire Sam Raimi for taking a chance and trying something different, but when you take a chance like that you risk losing the qualities that made people like the previous movies in the first place
• The special effects and action scenes can be fun in a whimsical sort of way, but they're in service of a movie that I just don't find all that entertaining. And, again, I'm sure it was a deliberate choice, but there's really nothing scary about this movie at all
• Campbell is still very watchable, and again a lot of the movie is just him owning the screen by himself (and sometimes alongside miniature/evil versions of himself, probably my favourite scenes). It's also more clear than ever how much Ash's personality changes from movie to movie, in this one he's hilariously overconfident and kind of an endearing asshole
• The script has some great lines, it's a very quotable movie. Some of my favourites:
• "This...is my BOOMSTICK" 
• "Hail to the king, baby" 
• "Well, hello Mr. Fancypants. I got news for you, pal, you ain't leadin' but two things right now, Jack and shit. And Jack left town."
• Finally, Army of Darkness directly references another movie that I reviewed and didn't like very much. The magic words that Ash needs to remember, "Klaatu barada nikto," are taken directly from The Day the Earth Stood Still

MINI REVIEW: EVIL DEAD (2013)

• Thrill score: 8.5/10
• I only saw this once, in the theatre when it came out, and I remembered liking it quite a lot. Fortunately, it had been long enough that it was basically a whole new viewing experience, and again I liked it a lot!
• It's more in the style of the first The Evil Dead, there's very little humour to be found, but given the 32-year gap between movies the special effects are greatly improved and the gore and violence are unflinchingly realistic. The boxcutter scene is particularly memorable, and in fact it's one of the few parts that I still remembered from my first time seeing it
• As a good reboot should, this movie stands pretty well on its own, you don't need to have seen the previous trilogy to enjoy it. I did appreciate the nods to The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II, though, like the hand turning on its owner, said hand getting amputated (by an electric knife this time), and the return of the all-important chainsaw during the climax

MINI REVIEW: EVIL DEAD RISE (2023)

• Thrill score: 9.5/10
• Yep, in my opinion, the most recent Evil Dead movie is the scariest. An urban apartment building might be the exact opposite of a cabin in the woods, but this still feels very much like an Evil Dead movie, departures and all. This is also probably the coolest looking version of the Necronomicon
• The scares are scary, the violence is violent, and the gore is gory. Lots of great foreshadowing, too. You've heard of Chekhov's Gun, but how about Chekhov's Tattoo Gun? And let's not forget Chekhov's Scissors and, especially, Chekhov's Wood Chipper
• Finally, an aspect of Evil Dead Rise that I find particularly effective is the close family relationship between Deadite and victim. This plays a part in some of the other movies, especially Evil Dead 2013, but Rise turns the screws even tighter, with a mother-turned-monster locked out of an apartment and trying to attack her kids and her sister within. This added familial layer is performed very effectively, and definitely gave me some full-body shivers

And that's it, gang! All the Evil Dead movies in one post. Before we go, I do want to mention Evil Dead The Musical, a hilarious stage version of Evil Dead that I've seen twice (if you haven't heard of it, you need to know that the audience has a splatter zone), and Ash vs Evil Dead, a TV series that I haven't seen at all, but hope to someday. It was a lot of fun rewatching these movies, and I might even say it was

Up next: The only Spielberg movie on the Readers' Choice list, 2002's Minority Report

READERS' CHOICE #26: PARASITE (2019)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

7

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, at some point after it came out in 2019, but before it won Best Picture in 2020

BEST SEQUENCE

The ram-don scene is definitely in the running, and I'll talk about it more a little later, but on this watch the climactic garden party scene really hit me hard

BEST LINE

"Jessica, only child. Illinois, Chicago. Classmate of Kim Jin-mo. He's your cousin."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

99%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"An urgent, brilliantly layered look at timely social themes, Parasite finds writer-director Bong Joon Ho in near-total command of his craft."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan."
DIRECTOR

Bong Joon Ho

MAIN CAST

Song Kang-ho, Jang Hye-jin, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Cho Yeo-jeong, Lee Sun-kyun, Lee Jung-eun, Park Myung-hoon

THOUGHTS

• The first time I saw Parasite I liked it, but I expected to like it more. I was very happy to see it win Best Picture that year (and what a groundbreaking moment that was, the first non-English film to win the award), but there was still a part of me that wondered if I was missing something
• I'm happy to say, though, that I liked it more upon rewatch (and as always, this is your reminder that the Thrill Score doesn't necessarily indicate how good it is as a movie. This is definitely a better movie than 7/10). Spoilers follow. I was more prepared for the mid-movie reveal that really threw me for a loop the first time, and it was even more thrilling than I expected - there were more deaths than I remembered
• I liked the way the Kim family's schemes got steadily worse and worse and more and more destructive. Starting with a little bit of document forgery, they just keep getting more embroiled in their own web, graduating to framing the driver to get him fired, and then basically physical assault by purposefully causing the housekeeper to have a severe allergic reaction
• And then I do want to talk about the ram-don scene, a really tense sequence of events, when the Kims rush around to hide the evidence of their betrayal while the Kim mother makes ram-don, a combination of two cheap packs of instant noodles, topped with ridiculously expensive beef (incidentally, the word "ram-don" was coined for the English subtitles as a combination of ramen and udon, but the actual word used in the movie is "Chapaguri," combining Chapagetti and Neoguri. Also, I highly recommend this video from Binging with Babish of him making the dish). This also leads to the first death of the movie, even if it was (somewhat) unintentional, when the previous housekeeper gets kicked down the stairs
• I also liked the aftermath of the ram-don scene, the tension of the Kim family needing to stay hidden, to then finally escape and return home in a torrential downpour to their flooded apartment and all of their ruined belongings. From this point forward there's an escalating simmer that I found very effective, only to finally boil over at the birthday party in the garden
• Finally, we've talked about a number of Best Picture winners already, and we'll talk about quite a few more, but this is the most recent one by far (and I was about to say that Parasite was the most recent movie on the Readers' Choice list, period, but actually Midsommar has it beat by a couple of months). Parasite is also the only Best Picture winner on the Readers' Choice list. Back to the AFI list, we discussed Gladiator a while ago, the Best Picture of the year 2000, but that was a movie that I added in myself and it wasn't actually included by the AFI. In fact, the most recent Best Picture winner on the AFI list was Titanic, released in 1997, and which we'll be talking about eventually

Up next: One of my faves, Evil Dead II from 1987, with possibly some mention of the other movies in the franchise as well

READERS' CHOICE #27: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008) AND LET ME IN (2010)

 

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, for both, but I saw the American version (Let Me In) before I saw the Swedish original (Let the Right One In)

BEST SEQUENCE

The pool scene, with preference given to the Swedish version (I especially like how brightly it's lit)

BEST LINE

"I'm twelve. But I've been twelve for a long time"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

98% (Swedish) and 88% (American)

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Let the Right One In reinvigorates the seemingly tired vampire genre by effectively mixing scares with intelligent storytelling."

and

"Similar to the original in all the right ways -- but with enough changes to stand on its own -- Let Me In is the rare Hollywood remake that doesn't add insult to inspiration."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A bullied boy forms a unique friendship with his new neighbor, who is a vampire."

DIRECTOR

Tomas Alfredson

and

Matt Reeves

MAIN CAST

Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar

and

Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins 

THOUGHTS

• Doing things a little differently with this one and reviewing two movies at the same time, the Swedish original and the American remake. They are indeed very similar and equally thrilling, but I do give the edge to the filmmaking in the Swedish one, while I think the acting is slightly better in the American version. The Swedish movie has main characters named Oskar and Eli, and the American counterparts are Owen and Abby, so I'll refer to them as Oskar/Owen and Eli/Abby from now on
• I really like these movies, so much so that I was tempted to give them a higher score than 8.5, but the Thrill Scale must be respected. I will say, however, that these are my favourite vampire movies (and incidentally, it's not meant to be a surprise. It's made clear pretty early on that Eli/Abby is a vampire)
• I love the tenderness and the vulnerability we see while the relationship starts to form between Oskar/Owen and Eli/Abby, and this goes both ways, like when Eli/Abby eats candy, even though she knows it will make her violently sick, just to spare Oskar/Owen's feelings. There's a more cynical way to read this, that this is all just a manipulative ploy by Eli/Abby to gain a new servant, but that's honestly not how I see it. Despite the fact that Eli/Abby has been alive for centuries, I believe that she still has the thoughts and feelings of a 12-year-old girl, and she feels just as nervous and excited as Oskar/Owen
• I wasn't quite sure when to mention this, but I feel like now's a good time to say that while Abby, from Let Me In, is female, Eli, from Let the Right One In, was castrated centuries before. I'm going to keep using she/her pronouns for Abby/Eli, as other pronouns aren't established in the movie, and if anyone has any thoughts about the significance of this reveal, I'd love to hear them
• I also think it's incredibly poignant to realize that Eli/Abby's servant at the beginning of the movie, who at this point is an old man, likely started a relationship with Eli/Abby decades ago, in much the same way that we see happening with Oskar/Owen. This could also be seen as evidence that Eli/Abby is more cunning than she comes across, though, if this is a repeated pattern for her
• I realize that I haven't said much about these movies being thrilling, but they definitely are. There are sudden and shocking moments of violence, made even more effective by how clumsy and blunt they are. Eli/Abby's vampire attacks aren't graceful, they're brutal and animalistic. Perhaps even more terrifying, however, are the un-supernatural parts, the moments of human-on-human violence like the servant's botched attempts at gathering blood for Eli/Abby, or when we realize the extremes to which Oskar/Owen's bullies are wiling to go
• Although, the less said about the cat scene in Let the Right One In, the better
• Finally, I said something similar four years ago when I reviewed John Carpenter's The Thing - if you're anything like me, you've been suffering through the summer heat for the last few weeks. As a remedy, I recommend the snowy settings of these films, especially Let the Right One In. A stark, white background for these tales of young love and horrific violence, guaranteed to lower your temperature by at least a few degrees

Up next: The most recent movie on the Readers' Choice list, and a Best Picture winner to boot, it's Parasite from 2019

BONUS REVIEW: FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER (1984)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

7.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, in April of 2018

BEST SEQUENCE

Tommy and Trish's takedown of Jason

BEST LINE

"It says...it says you're a dead fuck"

"What? A dead fuck?"

"A lousy lay. You know? A dead pecker"

- largely picking this because of the ridiculous number of times Crispin Glover is called a "dead fuck" in this movie, which is also just a ridiculous expression especially considering it's not used to refer to someone who has died

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

22%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"As lumberingly single-minded as its homicidal star, Friday the 13th - The Final Chapter adds another rote entry to an increasingly labored franchise."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"After being announced dead and taken to a morgue, Jason Voorhees spontaneously revives, escapes from the hospital, and stalks a group of friends renting a house in the countryside near Crystal Lake."

DIRECTOR

Joseph Zito

MAIN CAST

Kimberly Beck, Peter Barton, Corey Feldman, E. Erich Anderson, Crispin Glover, Ted White (as Jason)

THOUGHTS

• "The Final Chapter". That's rich
• To be fair, this was intended to be the last Friday the 13th movie because the producer, Frank Mancuso Jr., felt like his work wasn't being respected and Paramount Pictures was fine with ending the franchise due to the declining popularity of slashers. The Final Chapter ended up being a hit, though, so it only took less than a year for the next movie to be released, followed by 6 more sequels and the reboot, so the final chapter wasn't so final anymore
• And in fact, many consider The Final Chapter to be one of the best of the franchise, and this includes my wife, who says it's her favourite of all of them
• For me it's good, but not as good as the first one. I think the strength of The Final Chapter largely comes down to memorable characters. I've seen all of the Friday the 13th movies and I can count on one hand the number of characters who stick out in my memory (and this includes Jason Voorhees, Pamela Voorhees and Kevin Bacon's package). Corey Feldman's Tommy Jarvis and Crispin Glover's Jimmy Mortimer are very memorable characters and worthy additions to the franchise
• Feldman and Glover are also two of the more famous Friday the 13th cast members, to the point that I was surprised by how early this movie was in their respective careers. It was only the third movie for each of them, and the only prior movie I had even heard of was The Fox and the Hound in which Corey Feldman voiced Young Copper (and I also include this fact because I had no idea that Corey Feldman was in that movie)
• And just to emphasize, I really liked Crispin Glover in this movie. So delightfully weird and awkward, but in a very endearing way. Just watch him dance (and supposedly this was all Crispin, based on the way he actually danced in clubs)
• Best kill: Weird to say, but probably when Jason dies (even though we know it doesn't entirely stick). Machete to the head, he falls to the floor and the head slides down the blade. Probably also a good time to mention that Tom Savini, special effects and make-up effects master, came back for this one after having worked on the first Friday the 13th
• Second-best kill: Doug in the shower
• I actually found it hard to pick a best line for this one, as the script is full of gems. Here are a few more:
• "Some pack of patootsies, huh?"
• "Axel, you are the Super Bowl of self-abuse!"
• And, of course, "Jesus Christmas! Holy Jesus! Goddamn! Holy Jesus jumping Christmas shit!" (courtesy of Axel himself)
• As has happened before I had the privilege of watching this movie with friends, and here are their one-line reviews:
• Marlo: "More boobs than plot"
• Andy: "Fully believable"
• Ashley (my wife): "Rob Dier. Knife mechanic."
• And finally, this is an extra special day because not only is it Friday the 13th, but June 13th specifically is Jason's birthday! Blow out the candles, ya big lug, and we'll see you again in February! Or will we...

READERS' CHOICE #28: EDGE OF TOMORROW (2014)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

7.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, and I think it must have been shortly after it was released, so it was about 10 years ago

BEST SEQUENCE

I'll describe it in more detail later because I want to avoid spoilers up top, but it happens at minute 24

BEST LINE

Not a whole lot to choose from, so I'll just go with "On your feet, maggot!"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

91%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Gripping, well-acted, funny, and clever, Edge of Tomorrow offers entertaining proof that Tom Cruise is still more than capable of shouldering the weight of a blockbuster action thriller."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

Redacted for spoiler reasons

DIRECTOR

Doug Liman

MAIN CAST

Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Noah Taylor

THOUGHTS

• I really like this movie and if you haven't watched it I think you should. Even though I only saw it once a long time ago, I've always thought fondly of it and I was excited to watch it again. I was so excited to watch it again, in fact, that I even convinced my wife to watch it with me despite the fact that action and sci-fi aren't usually her preferred genres of movie. She also liked it a lot, and maybe even found it more thrilling than I did on this viewing
• And this I partially chalk up to the movie being unspoiled for her. For me, I realized that the real fun of the movie came from the central premise and watching it be realized and explored. The action itself I found a little generic, which is honestly fine in the interest of not overstuffing the movie with ideas and distracting from the real draw, but it does thrill the most on first viewing. And at this point I will again wonder if there's any real concern about avoiding spoilers for a movie that's over a decade old, but hey, if my wife was able to go into it unspoiled, perhaps it could happen for you too
• Spoilers from this point on, however
• So, here's the IMDB synopsis: "A man fighting in a war against aliens must relive the same day every time he dies until he can find a way to stop their power source with the help of an elite soldier." And yep, you guessed it, this is basically a sci-fi/action riff on Groundhog Day. That description is a little reductive, though, because Edge of Tomorrow really does run with the idea, having a lot of fun in the process. Like I said, the action's a little generic especially in the first big battle sequence, but I think this actually enhances the lead-up to my favourite moment, when we watch the ostensible hero of the movie, Tom Cruise's William Cage, die. It's such a fantastic rug pull, seeing ol' Tom's face outright melting after being covered in alien blood. Wait a minute, we might be thinking, what's going on here? Only to then see him wake up again earlier that morning, at which point we realize the game that the movie is playing
• And then the fun really begins, especially getting to watch Tom Cruise die again and again and again - sometimes out of clumsiness, sometimes out of ineptitude, and sometimes out of sheer necessity in order to reset the loop. The film and the Japanese light novel it's based on both took inspiration from the death/respawn loop found in video games, which is a fun additional layer especially for a gamer like me
• Speaking of the light novel that inspired the movie, All You Need Is Kill, that was the movie's original name but they changed it mostly to remove the word "kill" from the title. Live Die Repeat was also considered, although that in itself is kind of a spoiler too
• And I think we'll leave it there. It really is a fun movie and if you haven't seen it I hope that you do (although also if you haven't seen it, I hope that you stopped reading 4 bullet points ago)

Up next: Let the Right One In. And I plan on reviewing the original Swedish movie from 2008, although I have also seen the American remake Let Me In from 2010 (and maybe I'll give that a rewatch too just for a quick compare and contrast)

READERS' CHOICE #29: CITY OF GOD (2002)

TW: Child death

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Never

BEST SEQUENCE

The farewell party for Benny. The strobe lighting was extremely effective and immediately made me feel on edge and disoriented while watching

BEST LINE

"Why return to the City of God, where God forgets about you?"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

91%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"City of God offers a shocking and disturbing -- but always compelling -- look at life in the slums of Rio de Janiero."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin."

DIRECTOR(S)

Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund

MAIN CAST

Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Matheus Nachtergaele, Seu Jorge

THOUGHTS

• Usually when I say a film reminded me of other films I don't mean that as a bad thing, especially if it reminded me of films I like. This is definitely the case with City of God - a lot of similarities with Scorsese's work, especially Goodfellas (one of my favourite movies), and at times it also reminded me of Tarantino. However, a big difference between City of God and the films of those two directors would be the ages of the main characters. I would estimate that most of the characters in City of God don't make it past their early 20s, and a lot of the action happens when they're even younger, in their teens. In this sense especially I was also reminded of films like Menace II Society and Boyz n the Hood
• City of God takes it even further, however, with some pretty shocking scenes of violence committed by and inflicted upon characters who appear to be 12 and under (and, again, trigger warning and also spoiler warning). There's a harrowing scene in which the teenaged drug lord Li'l Zé wants to make an example of some much younger kids, so he threatens two of them with a gun. I was sure that Li'l Zé was going to let them go after scaring them out of their wits, but no, he actually shoots each of them in the foot before telling another preteen to execute one of them. Again I was sure that Li'l Zé would relent, but the movie sees this scene through to its grim conclusion. It's heartrending but it doesn't feel manipulative
• Just like in Goodfellas this movie moves at a fair clip, rarely settling down for long, and always keeping us captivated. City of God got four nominations at the Academy Awards in 2004 (Director, Cinematography, Film Editing and Adapted Screenplay). Pretty impressive, especially for a foreign film, but that was the same year that The Return of the King won pretty much everything so City of God was definitely at a disadvantage. Oddly enough it wasn't nominated for Best Foreign Film the previous year when it was released in Brazil, and therefore when it was submitted by Brazil to the Academy for consideration
• Speaking of Brazilian cinema, City of God was executive produced by Walter Salles, the director of I'm Still Here, the most recent Best Foreign Film winner
• Finally, the vast majority of the cast was recruited from the real slums of Rio de Janeiro, and some of them had actually lived in the real City of God favela. This contributes to a real sense of authenticity, but in cases like this you also have to hope that it wasn't mere exploitation going on here. Assistance groups were set up to aid the actors after filming finished, but the authenticity vs. exploitation debate is an interesting (and potentially troubling) one to consider

Up next: Some more sci-fi coming at you. Edge of Tomorrow from 2014

READERS' CHOICE #30: BLACK SWAN (2010)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, but only once in the theatre shortly after it came out

BEST SEQUENCE

It's impossible to forget the moment in Nina's bedroom when her eyes turn red, she plucks a black feather from her back and her legs suddenly bend backwards

BEST LINE

"I felt it. Perfect. It was perfect."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

85%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Bracingly intense, passionate, and wildly melodramatic, Black Swan glides on Darren Aronofsky's bold direction -- and a bravura performance from Natalie Portman."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Nina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare."

DIRECTOR

Darren Aronofsky

MAIN CAST

Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder

THOUGHTS

• I was trying to figure out if we would classify Black Swan as a body horror movie, and while it seems that opinions may vary on that point, this movie gets such a high thrill score largely because I was squirming and cringing at many of the changes that we see happen to Nina's body throughout the film. From the extreme end of the spectrum like in what I considered the best sequence described above, to the slightly milder example of Nina peeling a hangnail all the way down her finger, this even goes for the moments that are very real and not imagined by Nina, like the cracked toenail that is just part of being a ballet dancer
• Speaking of which, I've never really been one for the ballet, and this movie certainly doesn't make it seem like a glamourous life, at least not for the most part, or at least not for Nina. When the movie was released there were real-life ballet dancers who took issue with Black Swan's depiction of their profession, and this article is a great read for that point of view, but the gloominess of Nina's day-to-day life certainly adds to the moodiness of the film, and adds to the feeling that Nina is being backed into a corner by this ballet and this role
• It's a fantastic performance by Portman, probably has to be my favourite of hers, and so far it's her only Oscar win
• Finally, I do like forming my own opinions and theories about films, but this is one of those movies that makes me want to immediately go and read other people's analyses - what really happened, and what was all in Nina's mind? For this reason it's also a movie that benefits from multiple viewings, so if you haven't seen it in a while, give it another watch!

Up next: A movie I haven't seen, and one that I know very little about, in fact. City of God from 2002