Horror Movie Talk

Episode 7 starts to weave all the story lines together as Rebecca and Peter are revealed to Dani, and the story of Rebecca’s death is told. We learn of Peter’s motivations in the afterlife and how it may have dire consequences for the living.

• (1:02) – Intro
• (2:45) – Synopsis
• (4:20) – Spoilers
• (48:15) – Outro

In episode six we learn quite a bit of backstory about the family as a whole, but mostly about Henry. There’s a decent bit to learn about Flora in this episode as well, and she is kind of the B storyline here, which I found very sad. 

While this is a long episode at over an hour, it’s also the most full of intrigue and depth of any of the series so far.

This episode is the Hannah Episode. This episode keeps the audience off-balance by jumping back and forth through time and between memory and reality. As confusing as it can be, there are also a lot of revelations.

We finally learn what that crack is all about, we see more about how Rebecca gets entangled with Peter, and we even see why the lady in the lake is so dangerous.

• (1:02) – Intro
• (3:30) – Synopsis
• (6:05) – Spoilers
• (40:36) – Outro

In this episode we get to learn a little more about Dani and her background with the man in the mirror. 

Overall, this episode had a sad vibe of regret and loss, which was hard for me to watch. There wasn’t a ton of scares in this one, but it did do a great job of telling us why Dani is the way she is.

In this episode we are given the backstory of the previous au pair Rebecca Jessel played by Tahirah Sharif, and Uncle Henry’s assistant Peter Quint played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen. 

Peter and Miss Jessel have an affair, and soon the charming facade put on by Peter cracks and reveals a manipulative sociopath underneath.

• (0:57) – Intro
• (2:10) – Synopsis
• (5:51) – Spoilers
• (41:15) – Outro

We pick up the second episode of The Haunting of Bly Manor as if no time has passed between the last episode and now. Dani has just come out of the closet (wink, wink) and the kids are apologizing like they didn’t just very intentionally shut her in there to begin with. 

This episode is one where Miles is much more fleshed out as a creepy character, and we get to learn a bit about why he is the way he is.

This is a very Dani and the kids heavy episode, we are properly introduced to the gardener, Jamie, played by Amelia Eve.

This also contains the spookiest scene in the first three episodes, with a rousing game of hide-and-seek before bed.

In this opening episode we are introduced to Dani Clayton played by Victoria Pedretti an, American who is hired to be an au pair to two perfectly splendid young orphan children. They live in a spacious estate in the countryside called, you guessed it, The Hill House, oh wait, Bly Manor. The children’s only surviving relative is Uncle Henry played by Henry Thomas, hired Dani, but he shows no interest in being involved with them. 

Flora played by Amelie Bea Smith is the precocious 8 year old girl, and her 10 year old brother Miles played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, is… in need of structure and discipline.

There are other staff at the Bly Manor, including the cook Owen played by Rahul Kohli, the housekeeper Hannah played by T’Nia Miller, and Jamie, the groundskeeper played by Amelia Eve.

As Dani gets to know the children and Bly Manor, strange and unsettling things start to happen, and the children begin to act strangely.

• (0:57) – Intro
• (2:25) – Synopsis
• (6:04) – Spoilers
• (36:47) – Outro

The Blair Witch Project is one of the most iconic films of the 90’s, and it’s even credited with starting the found footage genre, but I wasn’t looking forward to re-watching it. I saw this when it came out and figured it wouldn’t age well. I WAS WRONG!

Synopsis

The Blair Witch Project has the stunningly simple premise of, “let’s shoot a documentary about a spooky place/thing in the woods” and as we all know, nothing good ever happens in the woods.

Three young adults, Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams play themselves as a film crew that is headed into the woods of Maryland to document the “myth” of the Blair Witch. 

Before heading into the woods they stop at the closest town and interview the locals about the likelihood of such a myth, and received varying stories of belief and terror mixed with skeptics.

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As they venture into the woods things start to grow alarming and they start to wonder if they are lost. 

Things take a turn for the worst as they realize that they got more witch than they bargained for.

Review

The Blair Witch Project is widely held to be the movie that kicked off the found footage genre. There are plenty of examples of found footage before this film, such as:

• Cannibal Holocaust
• Cannibal Ferox
• The Faces of Death Series
• The Connection
• The Last Broadcast
• 84 Charlie MoPic
• Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood

While these movies ranged in release date all the way back to the late 60’s the genre never gathered significant steam or public interest until the release of Blair Witch. 

Many of these movies, including Blair Witch, capitalized on the mistaken assumption that the movie was actual footage of real-life events that just happened to be caught on tape.

The hype train that surrounded the release of this movie was a sight to behold. This is one of, or maybe the first movie ever to rely primarily on an internet marketing campaign.

Check out our review of Paranormal Activity 2

The movie itself is something of an anomaly, not quite a film, and not quite a home video. It is hard to place it squarely in a genre. With the added suggestion that the footage was real, it made this a real freak show. 

The Blair Witch Project relies heavily on audience buy-in and it is able to accomplish it by being very believable by nature. This is how young twenty-somethings would act, and something they would do, and the scenario they find themselves in is pretty easily a universal nightmare to any viewer.

I saw this in theaters upon release, and never again since. I was not looking forward to a rewatch because I thought I had this movie pegged from the first viewing. I did not. It still works! It’s still scary as shit, believable, and a crazy-fun ride from beginning to end.

The poor footage quality, total amateur filming style and distant audio sound coupled with the setting of the New England woods, holds up well.

While it lacks the polish and delivery that a true filmmaker’s film would deliver, it’s supposed to. 

If you enjoy this movie you should also check out The Curse of the Blair Witch, a Sci-Fi Channel documentary that accompanied the theatrical release of the movie.

Score

10/10

In this series of ten plus Aftershows we will be talking about the events of each episode of The second season of The Haunting of Hill House titled, The Haunting of Bly Manor.

This season is also written and directed by Mike Flanagan, the man who brought you The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep, Geralds Game, Hush and many more huge horror hits. 

I have to say this show has really surpassed my expectations, especially in the realm of storytelling and character building. Netflix seems to have allowed Flanagan the creative license that he needed to get this twist on the classic novella The Turn of the Screw. 

We had a great time watching this show and normally we only review horror movies, but im glad we were given the opportunity to review this show because it’s going to be a big one. 

There’s a tremendous mystery at the core of this somber slash scary tale. It’s also a surprisingly touching show that focuses on personal relationships and loss. 

Remember, The Haunting of Bly Manor premieres on Netflix on October 9th, so make sure you catch the shows and watch them in full before you dive into our Aftershows. You won’t be disappointed!

Antebellum is a fantastic concept with mediocre execution. It’s not bad, it’s just lackluster when compared to recent, more nuanced horror films about race from Jordan Peele. That being said, it is worth a watch if only to see historical African slavery through a new lens.

Synopsis

It’s pretty hard to give a synopsis of Antebellum without giving spoilers, but I’ll give it a shot.

Janelle Monae stars as Veronica Henley a famous author and speaker on inclusion living in modern society, who finds herself suddenly living as Eden, an African American slave on a southern plantation.

Veronica is forced to deal with living as a powerless slave while having the mind of a strong independent 21st century black woman.

Veronica bides her time and submits to some of history’s greatest horrors to pick the right time to make her escape and find her way back to her life.

Review of Antebellum

This one is really tough for me. The premise is really solid. Set the everyday occurrences of Antebellum south in the US as a horror movie. I genuinely don’t think this has been done before, and is a fantastic way to address this historical atrocity.

The trailer is pretty misleading though, and I feel really undercut the film by suggesting a much more interesting plot device than is actually used in the film. This is intentional, I think, because it is also suggested by the narrative structure of the first act. I could see how audiences would feel a bit of bait and switch and that there might be audible groans from some of the reveals.

The writing doesn’t have any nuance, and many of the characters, especially the white characters are more caricatures than anything. The cast is very good, and does what it can for the film, but overall it squanders the opportunity to explore the horrific premise. 

For these reasons, I think the film will be a huge disappointment for those expecting a film of the caliber of Get Out or US. Reviews have not been kind, it is in the low 30s on Rotten Tomatoes right now.

What I can say is that it’s not that bad. While this is not the film that I expected, it’s still a very intriguing concept that is told in a passable way even if it’s not the route I would have chosen. It genuinely does portray the horrors of the antebellum south in a genre fashion, and that is really what is holding together the movie. 

Score

5/5

Antebellum

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