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Cold Meat (2023)
Confined space, heavy blizzard and characters under pressure create the icy suspense of Cold Meat
The extreme cold is a very important element in the construction of some Suspense and Horror narratives. It contributes to increasing the tension that usually surrounds the characters. The feeling of weakness in the face of nature, the risk of hypothermia, the need for a shelter or source of heat to keep us warm and the hunger that increases.
With what was mentioned above, it is easy to remember some classic productions. In The Enigma of Another World (1982), scientists face the cold of Antarctica and have to deal with an unknown creature that takes the form of their victims. In The Shining (1980), Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) needs to stay with his family in a hotel full of secrets during a harsh winter.
David (Allen Leech) ends up crashing his car into a ravine and, surrounded by snow, is unable to get out of there. As the snowfall increases, the situation worsens and the man is forced to wait for the weather to improve. However, he is not alone. You will have to face this situation with another person. At this point, we get to know the personalities and characteristics of the characters better.
Another feature of the film is creating a plot that can be sustained in a confined space. The interior of the vehicle will be the stage for two people in a gradual state of fear, distress and search for survival. Whether through dialogue waging psychological warfare, or through desperate measures to find an escape, time is running out and solutions are difficult to come by. And in this environment, everything fits together as a resource to survive. Knife, car heater, numbing liquid, duct tape.
As time progresses and the chances of survival decrease, the two characters fight a battle that reveals more details about each person's personality. Scenes alternating between reality or even representing an illusory/dreamlike moment make us more aware of the true motives and nature of the characters.
As if all the dangers of the extreme cold and the struggle between both characters were not enough, a strange creature starts to haunt the car. If the viewer paid attention to the narration at the beginning of the film, they will better understand the meaning of such a creature.
Of course, certain moments in the film receive a metaphorical meaning, but it is up to the viewer to better understand where the metaphors fit. As one of the characters in the film said: 'the blizzard is still one of the things you should least worry about if you manage to get out of here'.
Watch it on a very cold day, preferably.
Hwang-ya (2024)
Hwang-ya bets on agile entertainment, with a lot of punching and well inspired by Blockbuster Cinema and the old South Korean school of Action films.
A Seoul transformed into a post-apocalyptic and lawless scenario, ideal for fitting a narrative that encompasses zombie films, gore, brawls, dystopia and Action typical of the South Korean school of Cinema.
In less than 5 minutes of film, the viewer has a preview of what they will see ahead: lots of action, an agile script and impactful scenes. Hwang-ya is yet another South Korean production that brings many ideas to mind, even if they don't work correctly or serve to create an energetic script that is even overdone.
The movie ends up not paying much attention to the social and pessimistic criticism that most films with a post-apocalyptic theme have. On the other hand, it bets on agile entertainment, in a narrative with lots of exaggerations, with no time for sentimentality, with action, fights and gunshots. In this part it works and can be very suitable for those who like the old Blockbuster Cinema.
La chambre des merveilles (2023)
The Book of Dreams is a film that highlights the power of motherhood and launches yet another warning about the ephemerality of life.
Trying not to be too bitter, the film features many lush landscapes, ranging from the bucolic coastal region of Edinburgh (Scotland) to the busy urban scene of Tokyo. In fact, this trip to Japan shows one of the highlights of the film when Thelma tries to get the autograph of a manga artist who prefers to live as a recluse and who doesn't like showing off to his fans (and the ending of this part ends up surprising).
Between visits to her son in the hospital and the change in her routine that even forces her to leave her job, the determined mother is faced with actions that change her perspective on life and force her to perform unusual tasks beyond her capabilities.
The moral that the film wants to convey is contained in striking phrases and dialogues. And it is Thelma herself who gives us this wisdom in narrations that justify her actions. As she herself states, 'nothing can get in the way of the infinite love between a mother and her child'. Or, in a fantastic passage near the end, he says: 'life is like an electroencephalogram, a straight line means death'.
Louis' final wish is what will disorient the viewer. Be ready. The viewer, of course, can interpret it in two ways (or even more). You know that ending where we need to sit next to another moviegoer and debate what happened there? So.
But this is Cinema. Be cathartic. Teach in your form of entertainment. Showing that life passes quickly and that we can transform ourselves to change the grief that usually circulates our paths.
Speak No Evil (2022)
A shocking and controversial horror that speaks to the raw and violent human nature
Although the film does not feature gratuitous spurts of blood, special effects and grotesque elements present in classic and traditional productions of the genre, the rollercoaster that takes place in 93 minutes is built little by little, in a heartbreaking way and, above all, exploring psychology of the characters, leaving the viewer's emotions raw.
Although the film begins with happier and more colorful contours among beautiful and idyllic Italian settings, it is interesting to note how the tension grows and even in daytime environments, the fear that surrounds us is always constant. Discoveries and truths are revealed, the real intentions of some characters arrive with impact. The viewer knows that this visit will not go as planned, however, even though it reveals possible clues, the film does not easily reveal how this will happen. To do this, we need to follow until the end.
'Speak No Evil' is disturbing, hard-hitting, but reflects many scenes that we see in the news and that are close to us, daily. The viewer will be left with the same question that arises in a certain scene of the film and comes as a shock: "Why are you doing this?" Violence does not deliver answers. And it starts again in a contaminated and increasingly cruel cycle, as the end of the film suggests. It could even be seen as a mix of social satire and misanthropic thriller for these days, albeit in a true but indigestible way.
Cobweb (2023)
Cobweb avoids being original, but it is tense and faithful to a child's fears
The child figure in horror films is very common throughout the ages. But working with childhood within this genre can be delicate, it doesn't always work, other times it yields memorable films.
Bodin prefers to start with a more skewed plot in Suspense and Drama. The boy's melancholy combined with the oppressive environment at home and at school distresses the viewer, it really shocks us in the face of a tense and suffocating daily life.
The settings offer a suitable dynamic to contribute to this dark atmosphere: the dim street lighting, the unkempt yard, a dark basement that serves as a prison for the punishments Peter receives, the loneliness of the boy's room. To make matters worse, Peter's parents talk about a missing child in the area during Halloween.
This is a film that presents several typically villainous figures that heighten a child's fears, intending, at first, to hide the true evil that is hidden and that is about to act towards the end.