Can I offer you a nice egg in this trying time?

Hello, sweethearts! 💜

Heh, it's been a while, hasn't it?

I'm really sorry for the long, unannounced hiatus. If you follow me on Twitter, then you know why I had to step back a little, but if you don't: this academic term was a massive shitshow with all the exams, assignments, my bachelor thesis (which, at the moment of writing this, isn't finished yet, and probably won't be soon...) and, on top of everything, my both physical and mental health suddenly failing. However, I'm doing a bit better now (or at least trying), so while I can't promise I'll publish new stuff regularly here, I'll try to do my best!

Despite many problems in my life, I couldn't not let myself go to a few screenings during this year's New Horizons IFF. And while I planned to write my coming-back-to-life post about this year's Eurovision, one of the festival movies was so interesting, I felt the urge to review it the moment I left the cinema (don't worry about the ESC though – I will write the posts. No idea, when, but I will. I promise).

That movie was "Hatching".

Don't ask me how to read the original Finnish name, I have no bloody idea.

"Hatching" is a debut movie by the director Hanna Bergholm. The story follows a young gymnast Tinja (Siiri Solalinna), who's living a seemingly perfect life with her mother (Sophia Heikkilä), a family vlogger, her father (Jani Volanen) and her younger brother Matias (Oiva Ollila). After an incident with a bird breaching into the family's house, Tinja finds an orphaned egg. She decides to take care of it and, later, of the bird-like creature that hatched from it – Alli. Things quickly turn ugly when it turns out that Alli will do everything to protect her caretaker – murder included...

 

The premise suggests that it's Alli, who's the main provider of horror in this film. And while she definitely has her moments (I'll talk about that later), she's not the main monster here. It's Tinja's mother. While she may seem kind on the surface, in fact she's a tyrant, who uses her family to fulfil her wishes. All she's doing is to keep the facade of having ideal family life to gain followers for her blog. At the same time she doesn't care about other people. It's especially visible in the way she treats Tinja. She pushes her to train as much as possible (despite the fact Tinja doesn't even like gymnastics that much!) just so her daughter would do good at the tournament and, so she could stream it. I have to admit, the portrayal of how toxic the mother is is extremely realistic here. Even when she seems to be behave nicely, you can easily see that she's doing it only to make Tinja act as she wants. Fuck, even, when she praises her daughter, she scolds her at the same time, constantly suggesting that she can do better. 

Some people may suggest that the mother is doing that because, due to her own life history, she wants to live through Tinja... Or because she was kept to incredibly high standards in her youth and is now perpetuating it. I'll be honest: I don't buy this explanation. The mother keeps abusing Tinja even after noticing that something is off, more, she uses it against her daughter, blaming her for all failures. She's a cold-blooded manipulator who only cares about herself and would do everything to get what she wants, even destroy lives of people around her. To me, there's no excuse for her behaviour, no redemption. She's just a bad parent.

Seriously, I can't remember when was the last time I hated a movie character this much. Fuck her.

All that treatment has a very bad impact on Tinja. She's just a child, determined to get approval of her parents. She's doing everything her mother wants, pushing herself harder and harder just to be worthy of mother's love. Even, when she's tired or upset, she doesn't show that to not destroy the illusion of perfection. This toxic relationship is reflected in the way Tinja treats Alli. Tinja doesn't get love she needs, so she loves Alli a lot. She cares about her "daughter", dedicates her time and energy to her, compliments her. Even, when Alli does horrific shit, Tinja still loves her. And Alli loves her back... Which is another reason why Tinja gets so attached to her – she knows Alli won't judge her.

Of course, Alli is still a monster. She doesn't understand a lot of human behaviours. She's often driven by animal instincts. And yet, she can act more human than Tinja's mother. It's especially visible in one of the late scenes, where Tinja, upset with Alli's actions, starts hitting herself to punish her (they have some kind of physical link and share senses) – violence is something Tinja has picked up from her mother. What does Alli do? She stops Tinja and hugs her until she calms down. She handles the situation much better, than Tinja's mother would, whose primary reaction is always anger.

I absolutely melted at all the scenes where Tinja cares for Alli. The whole movie may be pretty disturbing, but the love between them is really cute.

Tinja isn't the only person affected by mother's behaviour. Let's focus a little on the father. He comes off as passive, not stopping the mother from terrorising their children, not really wanting to even spend time with his family. However, it's easy to see that he's quite miserable and just lets the mother do what she wants to appease her. He's been living under her foot for so long, he doesn't care any more. He just wants some peace. One may ask why the hell did he marry her in the first place... But there's no evidence she behaved like that earlier. And people change. A lot.

There's also Tinja's brother, Matias. To be honest, I'm a bit conflicted about his character. On one hand, he's a whiny, spoiled brat, who constantly demands things from his parents and harasses his sister (the scene with the dog, holy shit, the scene with the dog!). During whole screening he was pissing me off immensely and I'd lie if I said I didn't hope for something to finally eat him. But on the other... He's a younger brother to a seemingly perfect child, Tinja. Their mother cares only about her and her gymnastic career. Their father doesn't do anything to help with that. No surprise Matias turned out the way he did. He most likely wasn't taught basic empathy. Also, deep inside, he must be as miserable, as everyone else. And can't express that, because again – no-one bothered to teach him.

Really, this family is fucked up as a whole... Which is probably the scariest thing about this whole story.

Psychological aspects aren't the only scary thing in "Hatching". This film is categorised as body horror for a good reason. With progress of the story, Alli gradually changes from a bird-like monster into a mirror image of Tinja (played by the same actress) and each stage is incredibly graphic. There is blood, deformed face, teeth poking out from where they shouldn't... The characterisation is stellar, everything looks really realistic. Siiri Solalinna also does a wonderful job as an actress – Alli moves and acts like a feral animal, which makes her very unsettling to watch.

This doesn't mean Alli isn't scary as a bird, though. Her first form is "played" by an animatronic – no CGI (or very little, I'm not sure) here. Because of that she's very real and her interactions with Tinja look natural. At the same time, she moves in a mechanical, erratic way, which adds a layer of uncanniness to her.

The sound design is great too. Alli doesn't speak, but she's still loud. Really loud. She gurgles, screeches or yells. And I can assure you, the blood-curling screams she makes, especially near the end of the movie, will make you shiver.

Alli is just awesome as a whole. Definitely my new favourite horror creature.

"Hatching" is really well paced, with good editing and the ending offering a very satisfying closure. It's a pleasure to watch (as much as a horror dealing with so many uncomfortable topics can be a pleasure) and I enjoyed it a lot. Do I recommend it? Of course! However, remember that this film runs on body horror and has some very triggering scenes related to animals (like the dog one...), so better check the triggers before seeing it.

Still, I think "Hatching" will join my collection of favourite movies. I loved it!

Image sources:

Poster: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hatching_(film).jpeg

All stills were screenshot by me from the official trailer and belong to Nordisk Film and IFC Midnight.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/VtRNqe78x4o

Little village, giant danger

TRIGGER WARNING: The movie discussed here deals with with a theme of suicide. Reader discretion is advised.

 

Sometimes you can encounter a true cinematographic gem completely by accident. When I saw that there's a horror available during this year's Five Flavours Festival, I didn't hesitate to add it to my watchlist. I don't think it's very surprising, you all know how much I love horrors. And if you follow me on Twitter, then you probably know what I'm talking about and how watching it went.

That was probably the most appropriate way I could describe this film at the moment.

"Death Knot" is Cornelio Sunny's debut as a director. Inspired by Indonesian native beliefs, it follows the story of Hari (Cornelio Sunny), his younger sister Eka (Widika Sidmore) and her husband, Adi (Morgan Oey), as they come back to siblings' home village after their mothers' sudden suicide. The situation is suspicious from the beginning, given the fact they both saw her in a dream the night before. The villagers also seem to be very hostile towards the family, accusing the mother of black magic and bringing death to the village. Are they right or is everything they say just some superstitions?

"Death Knot" may seem quite cliched, however, the fact the plot stems from Indonesian folk brings a lot of freshness to the concept. The movie builds the atmosphere of uneasiness on the fact the audience has no idea what's going on for most of the time. It doesn't hold back – the first scene we see is Hari and Eka's mother performing some ritual in the forest at night. It's dark, the soundtrack is loud and cacophonous, the woman is doing some sinister looking dance, which culminates in her climbing a tree and hanging herself. Whole sequence is overwhelming and, due to lack of explanation, extremely creepy. It also contrasts with following introduction of main characters – we see Hari texting his sister, while laying in bed in his house.

In general, for most of the time we observe the events unfold, but don't understand them. The fact main characters are similarly confused makes us identify with them and, as a result, immerse better in the story. Also the clash between supernatural occurrences and siblings' mundane reality amplifies the uneasiness. The contrast is especially visible in scenes with Hari, who's a down-to-earth atheist, trying to find an explanation that doesn't involve any magical forces.

As we can expect, he fails. Badly.

Unlike most horrors, "Death Knot" doesn't have any jumpscares. Instead, it relies on slowly building the atmosphere by making us expect something scary to happen (often, nothing happens). Another fear inducing method it utilizes perfectly is uncanny valley. In later part, we often witness the characters behave weirdly: smile too wide, move in an erratic way, talk with unusual phrases. It hints at the fact  there is something inhuman in control of them. However, the scare wouldn't be that effective if not great acting. In general, the movie puts a huge emphasis on actors and their performances. It also compensates for lack of any special effects.

The film has a rather somber tone. Not only the plot is dramatic. The colours are bleak and foggy, creating a gloomy atmosphere. It fits the main theme of the story – suicides – and the family drama that follows. And again, this tone wouldn't be achieved without believable performance. I especially liked Widika Sidmore – she shines in more emotional scenes. You can feel the strain that the difficult situation has put on Eka and Hari's relations.

Nothing surprising, anyone would snap if they were treated with such hostility...

"Death Knot" is very well paced, effectively alternating between the intense moments and more peaceful, "breather" ones. The exposition is also dosed in small parts, which prevents a sudden infodump and keeps the audience interested. The ending doesn't disappoint either – it's open, but still gives a satisfying conclusion to the plot. I also like the sudden tonal changes in the finale, especially the moment when Hari finally snaps. Cornelio Sunny's performance is great in this scene and it's hard not to pity him.

To be honest, "Death Knot" is one of the best horrors I've seen lately. It's atmospheric, well-made and just very interesting. I can definitely recommend it, especially to people, who like folk-themed horror and aren't keen on jumpscares.

It really is a hidden gem.

Image sources:

Poster: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14892248/mediaviewer/rm3536452353/

All stills were screenshot by me from the official trailer and belong to Good Move Media.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-P6DlFAsEw

Adventures of the deathtime!

"SPOOKWARE" is a title I had been eyeing long before its release. Produced by BEESWAX GAMES and distributed by DreadXP, the game was promised to provide a fast-paced microgames-based gameplay with lots of humour and horror themes. The incredibly cute main characters only encouraged me to try it out.

So I did. And holy shit, it was a wild, wild ride!

There are spooks, there are wares, what else do I need?

"SPOOKWARE" follows adventures of three skeleton brothers: Lefti, Midi and Righti. After deciding that they can't spend their whole (after)life mindlessly watching horror movies, the skelebros (I love this term) hop into a car and go on a road trip, looking for thrills.

The story is divided into four episodes, three chapters in each. So far only first episode was released. It starts with a prologue in skelebros' basement and then moves to a variety of locations. Each chapter has it's own theme and mechanics. In the first one we recruit musicians into a band with rhythm-based microgames. The second chapter takes us on a cruise ship, where we investigate a murder (don't ask me how it is possible to murder someone already dead, I have no bloody idea) and solve puzzles. The third one is food-themed with skelebros running their very own restaurant.

 

While the plot seems like a patchwork of various troubles main characters get themselves in, from the first chapter there are hints of something bigger going on with a certain sinister figure appearing from time to time. I have no idea where will this thread take us, but I have to admit I'm really intrigued. The fact said figure totally doesn't match the overall light-hearted atmosphere only fuels the curiosity.

But who cares about sinister figures when there are more serious problems to take care of – lack of toilet paper is a true nightmare!

I absolutely adore the visuals of "SPOOKWARE" – it mixes 3D backgrounds with hand-drawn 2D characters with some photorealistic elements thrown in. It's unique and pleases the eye. The game takes also inspiration from VHS tapes: it has this specific grainy filter on, the pause menu looks like VHS player interface and the view sometimes shakes like the movies played from tape would (fortunately, we can switch the latter off in the settings. I mean, it looks nice and retro, but gets annoying in the long run). And I'm not even starting on the fact that microgames are often called "tapes" and we play them on an old TV, 'cause it's obvious.

However, despite the cutesy looks, we shouldn't forget that "SPOOKWARE" is still horror-themed and definitely shouldn't be played by children (or people who are sensitive to blood). There is a lot of gore (damn, in the prologue there is a microgame where we decapitate someone with a saw!) and some upsetting imagery. It gives a true whiplash when compared with cartoony characters and, to be honest, I loved it. But I can also understand that some people may be put off by this, so proceed with care.

Also, a little warning for fellow arachnophobes: there are some spiders in first chapter. Nasty photorealistic spiders. I'll be honest, I felt a little bit uneasy at this particular part...

However, the game as a whole is not scary. I mean, it's hard to be scared when distressing imageries are drown in tons of jokes.

Another thing I love about "SPOOKWARE" is its humour. The game is very self-aware and often pokes fun at how absurd some of the events are. The skelebros being just a bunch of dorks who often can't see the weirdness only adds fuel to the carousel of comedy. Another things that appears often are jokes that break the fourth wall. The characters sometimes comment on the game itself – my favourite is in the first chapter, when Midi is worried that the camera is fixed and the player doesn't see the beautiful view from school's building. It was unexpected and hilarious. In general, when playing, it's the best to talk to everyone and check every place – absurd gags are hidden literally everywhere, along with tons of bone puns and some black comedy. It's awesome.

Okay, I praised, but now I have to scold a little. As it was already mentioned, "SPOOKWARE" is based on microgames. They appear at various points, always fitted into the story. Most of them last only several seconds (with some exceptions, which serve as kind of bosses, these are longer) with timer at the bottom of the screen. It means that you have very short time to figure out the mechanics and beat the microgame. Usually it works well – the microgames are intuitive and you have just enough time to meet the goal. Of course, with the sheer number of microgames you play, there's no surprise some of them are worse. There are some really frustrating ones either due to how counter-intuitive they are, their wonky controls and hit points (the "protect the traveler from the sun" one suffers from it a lot) or the too tight time limit (the finger grating needs several more seconds, 'cause beating it now is almost impossible). I wouldn't complain about it, as I said, it is kind of expected. However, almost all problematic microgames are accumulated in third chapter. And let me be honest, it is a problem, especially when you have to restart a big part of the chapter several times because you constantly get the hardest microgames one after another and lose all your lives thanks to failing them. It's annoying and I won't be surprised if some players actually rage quit thanks to it.

I'm a rather patient person, but sometimes I really wanted to yeet my laptop through the balcony...

"SPOOKWARE" isn't a long game – depending on how long you spend playing the microgames and talking to all NPCs possible (which I really, really recommend), you can beat it in something around 4 hours. I think it's quite a good time, especially when you consider it's just a first episode.

Despite some annoyances, I enjoyed "SPOOKWARE" a lot. It's interesting, funny (I can't remember when was the last time I laughed so much during video game, really) and has some clever ideas. I think it's worth checking out, especially now – Halloween is coming, so why not try something spooky?

 

And after you finish, you can join me in waiting for next episodes. I can't wait to see what troubles skelebros would get themselves into.

Image sources:

The header: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1574250/SPOOKWARE/

The screenshots were taken by me while playing the game.

Mechanophilia or Kiki has seen "Titane" (and feels conflicted)

Content warning: this post includes topics like sex, pregnancy and body horror. Reader discretion is advised.

I'll try not to spoil too much, but it's hard when talking about such film, so sorry if there are minor spoilers.

Anyway.

"Titane" was a total mystery to me. Trailer doesn't reveal much, so do the official summaries. Because of that I avoided any reviews, so I wouldn't accidentally spoil myself any important plot details. As a result I walked into the cinema knowing almost nothing... And, despite getting rather surprised, totally didn't regret it.

I wanted to say it's the best way to watch this movie, but it can be pretty triggering, so checking it first is a better idea.

The protagonist, Alexia, is introduced as a child. After she and her father get into a car crash, her skull gets fractured and the doctors need to implant a titanium plate into it. Years later adult Alexia (Agathe Rouselle) works as a stripper at a car show. One night she gets stalked by a creep claiming to be her fan and, after not being able to make him leave, kills him.

 

Let's stop here for a moment.

 

To be honest, at first I thought Alexia killed this guy in self defence. She stabbed him with a metal hair stick – thing she had on her hand. Her putting said stick back into her hair and showering only after she noticed the victim vomited all over her looked like she was in shock. Well, as movie quickly showed, it was not the case. Shortly after we see Alexia murder several other people. With the same stick. It establishes her as a serial killer, who is only mentioned earlier, and is one of two things that kick starts the proper plot. The other one?

On the same night she killed that creep, Alexia also got impregnated by her own car.

Have I mentioned it's only the beginning?

Running from the police, Alexia decides to change her appearance (which involves not only cutting her hair short and shaving her eyebrows, but also breaking her nose) and impersonate Adrien Legrand – long lost son of Vincent Legrand (Vincent Lindon), an old firefighter. As it turns out, it's harder than expected: while Vincent doesn't doubt for a moment that she's his son, she still has to dodge suspicions of his co-workers, his wife... And also somehow hide her rapidly progressing pregnancy.

You know, for a movie about sex with a car there's very little sex and cars. It all gets squeezed into two scenes during first act: the audiovisually pleasing and incredibly erotic show and quite weird car sex scene (if you are now wondering how is it even possible... Well, I don't know. Despite the film being pretty graphic in general, not everything is shown). Rest of the story focuses on Alexia's attempts to hide her true identity and growing bond between her and Vincent. Her character development is done quite smoothly. You can spot the first major change when she, despite having perfect opportunity to do so, can't bring herself to kill him. Later she gradually trusts him, which culminates in the ending when she asks him for help during her most vulnerable moment.

But don't expect a heartwarming family story, it's still a thriller.

"Titane" is categorized as body horror and actually lives up to it. What hit me while watching was how realistic this movie is. When Alexia kills we are usually shown everything: blood, vomiting, aftermath of smashing guy's skull with a stool. And when she binds her breast with elastic bandage, she ends with red marks and, later, lesions on her skin – an issue often overlooked when portraying a chest-binding (and also an actual reason why using elastic bandages for binding is a very bad idea. Don't do it, sweethearts, get a proper binder instead). Of course, one may argue that there are movies with much more gore... But it isn't the point here. The movie isn't intended to gross us out, at least not by this. The part that actually shocks the most is the pregnancy... But not only because of its supernatural origin.

You see, despite what media often try to tell us, pregnancy is scary. Even when going right it horribly messes with the body. The movie shows that – Alexia vomits, gets large stretch marks on both her abdomen and chest, later she starts spontaneously lactating. Of course, the squickiness is upped by supernatural elements: she doesn't lactate milk, but oil, and said stretch marks end tearing her skin, revealing metal placenta underneath. However, the basis is the same as in real life.

That's why asking someone why they don't have children is the shittiest thing in the world. Maybe they just don't want to get pregnant?!

I like how "Titane" plays with viewer's expectations by unexpectedly changing mood during the most dramatic scenes. First we have the moment when Alexia murders her co-worker, Justine (Garance Marillier) and her housemates. The intensity of events is suddenly "ruined" by upbeat song playing in the background. Then it gets serious again... Only for new people constantly enter the scene, which makes Alexia blurt "How fucking many of you is here?!". Her annoyance clashes with gruesomeness of murders, making the scene hilarious.

Another example happens near the ending, when Alexia takes part in a disco with firefighters. Mix of loud music, flashing colours and moving bodies is hypnotizing and a little unsettling. At one point two guys catch Alexia and make her climb up the fire truck. Whole crowd starts urging her to jump, everything looks like she will do it... But she doesn't. Instead she starts dancing a strip routine, which confuses the hell out of everyone. The awkwardness and general WTFness of this moment first throw the audience off the balance and then becomes quite funny.

The fact Alexia doesn't give a flying fuck about whole situation definitely helps.

I have to admit, I enjoyed "Titane" a lot. It surprised me: I expected a gory, artsy mindfuck and got a disturbing, but still rather comprehensible story. However, I don't know, if I can recommend it to anyone. On one hand it's nicely paced, well done technically and brilliantly alternates between drama and comedy, between straight body horror and psychologically distressing motives. The actors did great. The score matches the events. It's just a solid piece of filmmaking. But on the other hand there's still, well, gore and disturbing content and the fact I enjoyed it so much probably steams from the fact how desensitised I am when it comes to fucked up shit in art. I mean, people were fainting when viewing it in Cannes and I don't blame them, some scenes were nasty (like the one with attempted DIY abortion, everything was off-screen, but the acting really sold it). Damn, in the cinema I was sitting next to a guy who looked quite uncomfortable during screening (but still watched whole thing, so points for him for persistence... Or stubbornness, one of two). So yeah, despite my fondness I really can't recommend it with clear conscience.

 

Or let's word it this way: if this review made you interested in watching "Titane", then I'm taking no responsibility for it. Proceed on your own risk.

Good luck.

Image sources:

Poster: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Titane_poster.jpeg

All stills were screenshot from the official trailer and belong to Diaphana Distribution and Altitude Film Distribution.

The trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epoyDw8EU9I

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

Trigger warning: this post discusses fatphobia and transphobia!

 

I first heard about "Beauty Water" about three months ago, when Adum was reviewing it as a part of his Quickie about short films on Fantasia Festival. I have to admit, this title got my interest. Almost hour and a half (due to some technical issues, the version screened during the festival was a special short edit) animated Asian body horror? Totally my jam, sign me in. However, in a really short time I got dumped with university work and other stuff and completely forgot about this movie.

Fast forward to December. During one lesson my lovely Japanese teacher (if You are reading this, こんにちは! 💜) told me about an online Asian movie festival that was taking place at the time and, that she had spotted there a film I might like.

That film was "Beauty Water".

Fortunately, the festival offered an opportunity to watch a single movie without having to buy a general ticket. The price was reasonable too, so I couldn't miss the occasion. Do I regret it? Definitely not. But if you follow me on Twitter (which I recommend, I post shit regularly and even am funny sometimes), then you know that "Beauty Water" sparked some mixed feelings in me. And this is what I want to mostly talk about.

 

Before we proceed, I want to warn you this post will be spoileriffic as hell, so

SPOILER ALERT!!!

and from now on you're reading it on your own risk.

 

Really, I wanted to write this post without spoilers, but it's impossible...

 

"Beauty Water" tells the story of Yaeji – a make-up artist, who works for a famous TV Studio. Due to her weight, she had been bullied her whole life. After she fills in for an absent extra during filming of an ad, her very unflattering photos appear in the internet and she becomes a subject of cruel jokes. However, some time later she receives a package containing Beauty Water – a product she can use to change her body and facial structure. With some help of a mysterious lady, Beauty Water's distributor, Yaeji turns into a beautiful woman and, as Sulhye, begins her own career in the television. However, things don't go exactly as planned...

 

Most people would probably expect "Beauty Water" to be a typical story with an aesop, where Yaeji learns that appearance isn't everything and the most important thing is personality. However, this movie definitely isn't typical in both the story (which is based on a webtoon "Tales of the Unusual". I haven't read it, so I'll talk only about the film there) and the storytelling. Which, I think, is the reason why "Beauty Water" got such backslash.

Let's begin with the protagonist. Given her role in the plot, it's easy to expect Yaeji to be a "fat girl with a golden heart" type. She isn't. Yaeji is an unpleasant, nasty person, who constantly demands money from her parents and unloads her frustration via writing hateful comments in the internet. Many reviewers criticised the film for it, deeming it fatphobic. I know I look like a devil's advocate here, but I think it's not the case. It would be fatphobic if Yaeji had such a horrible personality because of her fatness. But it's not the fatness that is the reason. Throughout the film it's clearly stated that it's fatphobia itself that made Yaeji who she is. She used to be bullied as a child, she is bullied now, there are even people who are openly aggressive towards her (like TV star Miri, for whom Yaeji works). After years of humiliation her incredibly rude demeanour became sort of a defensive system. I think it's quite realistic portrayal of a bullying victim. Of course, it doesn't excuse her behaviour, especially towards her loving parents, but still, I think it's easy to understand her. Also, Yaeji doesn't change after using Beauty Water. Even slim and with a beautiful face, she still uses her defensive mechanisms a lot, because she still doesn't feel safe to abandon them

Actually, I got quite surprised by this film. "Beauty Water" was advertised as a body horror and while there is a lot of body horror in it, it's mostly psychological horror. From the beginning the movie focuses on Yaeji's psyche and how the events affect her. We see how she's struggling to be loved by others, while also dealing with extreme paranoia regarding her appearance. It's easy to see that she'll do everything just to win people's liking. The scene, where she goes to the Beauty Water's distributor to ask for help after the accident shows it quite well. Yaeji begs her, promises she'll do everything just to get help. She snaps and attacks her only after the distributor hits her weak spot by calling her a pig. Another great scene is the moment Yaeji goes shopping after her first treatment with Beauty Water. She gets scared that people are staring at her and needs a while to understand they don't do that because they judge her weight, but because she's attractive.

 

This movie is more emotionally charged, than I expected... And I love it.

The film portrays well double standards people engage into while judging others. Yaeji doesn't change her habits or behaviour after getting another appearance and yet everyone are much nicer to her. A good example is the janitor Yaeji meets several times. First time, when she is still fat and bumps into him while going back from shopping, he shames her, calls her lazy and tells her to eat less. Later, after she gets slim, she meets him in similar situation. However, this time he acts nicer and even offers some help.

Also, let's note how getting shamed for her appearance doesn't make Yaeji more motivated to loose weigh. Instead she eats more to cope and, later, completely shuts herself in her room. Unfortunately, this scenes are very realistic. Fat shaming never motivates anyone. Instead, it makes people more depressed and less likely to do anything – they are just afraid of humiliation and more shaming.

It's sad that many people don't understand that and keep engaging in shaming, thinking they help.

There is a subplot about pretty women going missing, which doesn't get much attention until the ending. And, unfortunately, this is what sparked the most mixed feeling in me. The biggest twist there is that the man, who Yaeji meets in the beginning of the story and later dates, is a) the kidnapper, b) actually a woman, who was jealous of her pretty sister, so she started using Beauty Water to turn into handsome man to lure women and steal their body parts. While I can understand the idea here and have to admit that the twist is logical and works well for the story, I can't shake the feeling it's also transphobic. Like, a person changes their gender to easily get close to women and lately assault them? Really?

I'm not accusing filmmakers of being transphobes, though. As I said, the twist is kind of justified by the story, so I doubt it was put there out of sheer malice. I think it's rather a shining example of unfortunate implications and, probably, lack of knowledge too. Which is why proper education is extremely important.

Okay, enough about the plot, let's move to the technical side.

The audio is done decently. The voice acting is good, same goes to the sound editing. I can't say anything about the music, besides the fact it... Exists. It doesn't disturb, but isn't anything special either. To be honest, I can't even recall any particular melodies now. It just fills the background and nothing besides it.

I've noticed, many people shit on the visuals. "Beauty Water" blends both 2D and 3D-stylised-as-2D animation. Personally, I really enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of the latter and love its smoothness and porcelain-like effect. However, when characters animated in both ways appear in one scene, it's easy to see the differences – pure 2D animation looks quite choppy. But you get used to it quickly.

I'll be honest: it's one of most visually pleasant movies I've recently watched.

Do I like "Beauty Water"? Of course. It's a solid psychological horror with some nice gore in it. It's also decently paced and doesn't drag at all. Do I recommend it? I'm not sure, especially when it comes to the ending. The plot is great, but the transphobic twist at the end ruins the experience. Quite a pity, isn't it?

Image sources:

Poster: https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%8C%8C%EC%9D%BC:%EA%B8%B0%EA%B8%B0%EA%B4%B4%EA%B4%B4%EC%84%B1%ED%98%95%EC%88%98_%EA%B7%B9%EC%9E%A5_%ED%8F%AC%EC%8A%A4%ED%84%B0.jpg

All movie stills were screenshot by me from the official trailer and belong to Triple Pictures.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgdXZrjVPNk

Life OST: Spooks' time!

Hello, sweethearts!

You probably know from the title, what I want to talk about: music for Halloween! I love this holiday and everything connected to it. So, why not gather songs perfect for listening during spooky time? In this episode of "Life OST" we'll have creepy melodies, scary lyrics, dark atmosphere and much, much more!

 

Little warning: some of these songs may contain disturbing themes and imagery, so proceed with care.

Let's go!

Type O Negative "Halloween in Heaven"

 

 

Let's start with a classic. I've been listening to Type O Negative since primary school and, while my music taste has changed, I still love them. This song is one of my favourites. Of course, it's a little bit sad to listen when you remember Peter Steele died three years after release of "Dead Again" (may he rest in peace), but, to be honest, it applies to Type O Negative's music as a whole.

"Halloween in Heaven" not only has Halloween in the title. It's lyrics talk about various dead musicians partying in Heaven during this holiday. Despite rather grim theme, it's cheerful and very catchy, great for a spooky party.

카네린 feat. 巡音ルカ "Reddish Waltz"

 

 

Horror is great. Dubstep is great. Vocal synthesizers are great. And what happens when we mix it? Epic shit happens! "Reddish Waltz" has become lately one of my absolute favourites when it comes to vocaloid music in general. I love how dark and heavy it is. Also, 카네린 did wonderful job, while rendering Luka's English vocal. She sounds clear, smooth and beautiful, just the way she should.

Steampianist feat. Gumi "The Experiment"

 

 

Another vocaloid song I just adore, this time based on a very popular creepypasta, "Russian Sleep Experiment". Steampianist is an expert when it comes to horror music and it shows. Chilly instrumental is accompanied by creepy noises, which match song's overall theme. Also, Gumi's voice sounds amazing, especially the way her vocal was mixed. Generally, if you like vocal synthesizers and creepypastas, you should definitely give "The Experiment" a listen.

 

The Crüxshadows "Insomnia"

 

 

The Crüxshadows' music is usually pretty positive and catchy. However, this song is an exception. To be honest, "Insomnia" is one of the creepiest songs I know. The instrumental is mostly made of athmospheric noises, like bells and knocking. Scariness is amplified by lyrics sung in rather monotonous voice – an unusual thing in this band's music. However, despite being so different "Insomnia" works in all ways it was intended. Another example of how amazing The Crüxshadows are.

GHOST feat. UmbraticForest and B.a.D. "Apotropaism/apple the pagan's son"

 

 

 

Okay, how can we celebrate Halloween without this gem? It's been four years and I still remember how excited I was when listening to it for the first time. GHOST is a horror music pro with a very distinctive style. Also, while they usually make vocaloid songs, this one is a collaboration with two skilled vocalists: UmbraticForest and B.a.D. And let me be honest: GHOST's instrumentals and Umber's vocal blend incredibly well (like, really. Just check out Umber's covers of other GHOST's song, they are amazing).

I'm quite fond of the concept "Apotropaism" (don't ask me, why the song is called "apple the pagan's son" now, I have no bloody idea). It tells a very interesting story about fanaticism and how it destroys people lives. The theme is emphasized by inclusion of Latin prayers in lyrics. And I love it.

Ester Peony "On a Sunday"

 

 

This piece absolutely slayed on ESC 2019 and it still does. The mix of Ester's mesmerising vocal and hypnotising instrumental makes wonderfully dark, sensual song about love and obsession. It's a shame it didn't qualify to the final.

 

Also, I love the music video. Okay, special effects look a little bit cheap, but damn, it's still awesome. I like the little glitches when Ester moves, they add a nice creepy vibe.

 

Creep-P feat. 初音ミク "Not as it Seems"

 

 

Another amazing creepypasta-themed vocaloid song. I adore Creep-P's electropop. It's glitchy, emotional and very intense, just perfect. I'm also in love with how vocaloids sound in their songs (unfortunately, they stopped using them a while ago... But their vocals are also very nice, so no problem). "Not as it Seems" is one of the best pieces with Miku's English voicebank. She's easy to understand and has really pleasant vocal there.

 

BlutEngel "The Lost Children"

 

 

One of my favourite tracks from "Tränenherz", "The Lost Children", combines all the best aspects of BlutEngel: catchy rhythm, vampirism-related themes and Chris Pohl's sexy vocal. I also love how both creepy and mesmerising this piece is – perfect for a Halloween party!

 

Arkadiusz Reikowski "You're Not In Control" from ">observer_"

 

 

Is putting here a horror game soundtrack cheating? Maybe a little bit, but damn, this track is actually really scary – I dare you to listen to it in the dark. It has everything: eerie vocals, unidentified noises, distortions... Bonus points if you played the game and remember the scene fragments of this song was in. (Okay, I was less scared and more pissed off during it, but it was gameplay's fault, music was actually doing really good job with keeping me creeped out).

-MASA Works DESIGN- feat. 初音ミク and Gumi "狐の嫁入り"

 

 

Let's finish with an absolute classic by our Lord and Saviour, MASA! I love all his songs so much, I really had a problem choosing one for this post – he's master of horror music and gory themes. I finally settled for old, but gold "狐の嫁入り". It's bloody, unsettling and hypnotising. MASA's characteristic way of tuning vocaloids is just perfect, especially the fast vocals – they add to the madness this piece is. And let's not forget about the PV, illustrated and edited by MASA too. This guy is a true one-man band. A fucking awesome one.

 

By the way, "狐の嫁入り" was my first MASA's song. I don't think I would love him as much today, if I haven't had found it.

Of course, there are much more creepy songs, but if I were to put them all there, this post would be incredibly long. Also, I have to leave something for the next year.

And what horror songs do you like to listen? Don't forget to drop some recommendations in the comments!

Take care, sweethearts! Happy Halloween!

Two guys, one lighthouse

I don't remember where exactly I heard about "The Lighthouse". Given the amount of various horror and movie news I follow, it could be anywhere. However, I know what exactly encouraged me to check this film out. It was... A "Boku no Hero Academia" AU – Shipwreck AU by Zhampy (which I really recommend, it's great!). I loved it so much I just had to see the movie that inspired it. Fortunately, one of libraries in my city has "The Lighthouse" in its collection. I was so excited, I watched this film the same day I got it and... Well... I'll be honest: to say it was wild is to say fucking nothing.

I know jokes about Pattinson's most famous role had been done to death, but: Edward looks strange with moustache.

"The Lighthouse" tells a story of two lighthouse keepers, old and experienced Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) and rookie Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson). After arriving at the island in the middle of nowhere, they are supposed to spend four weeks there and take care of the lighthouse (what a surprise!). However, from the beginning nothing goes as it should: Wake treats Winslow like shit, makes him do all the hard work and doesn't allow him to see the Fresnel lens. Fortunately, as time passes, the guys start to get on a little better.

And then things happen. Many things. And due to the fact "The Lighthouse" is more "how it happened" than "what happened", this post will be spoilerific as hell, so

SPOILER ALERT!!!

We are presented with two main characters in the beginning, but with story's progress the movie centres more on Winslow and his fall into insanity. He starts as a pretty sensible (if quiet) man and then becomes more and more unhinged. The movie doesn't explain if he used to be sane or was mad from the beginning and just suppressed it. It also doesn't give a clear reason of his madness – it can be either Wake's abuse or something supernatural. According to some theories, the whole plot can also be a Winslow's dying dream. However, this all isn't actually important. Only thing that matters is the process and, actually, it works surprisingly well. Pattinson's portrayal of a man, who is gradually losing his mind is very convincing and shows his brilliant acting skills. He slowly builds up the tension to the point, when the ending and him finally losing his shit feels almost cathartic.

And it's amazing.

While I can't say a bad word about Dafoe's acting (it was brilliant), Wake isn't even half interesting as Winslow. To be honest, for most of the time this drunken asshole was just pissing me off. Of course, he has some great moments as a character, like the scene with a curse or his "relationship" with the lighthouse, but still... Sometimes I felt the creators just overdid it. For example, I know this farting thing was (probably) meant to be a joke to relieve the tension, but I got tired of it halfway into the movie. Maybe it's because I hate toilet humour (I'll be honest: most of shitty jokes aren't funny when you suffer from chronic intestinal illness), I don't know. Or maybe it really is just too much.

To be honest, even without farting Thomas Wake would be a hard to bear character. He is obnoxious, bossy, arrogant and drinks way too much alcohol. Actually, if I were to point in the film one thing that really disturbed me, it would be drinking. Okay, I have to admit scenes with Wake and Winslow singing and dancing are pretty funny and I even chuckled at "All right, have it your way. I like your cooking", but the rest... Damn, that really is scary. The most important factor of that scariness is the realistic portrayal of alcoholism. Wake drinks all the time, to the point that near the ending lack of alcohol is one of his biggest worries. Also, the scene when he urges Winslow to drink with him is so relatable it made me extremely uncomfortable (due to various reasons I'm an abstinent and I can't count how many times I got shamed or laughed at because of it).

While we are at it, personally I think shit hits the fan not because Winslow kills the seagull, but because he starts abusing alcohol. Being drunk basically makes him lose all the control he had earlier and unleash all suppressed emotions. Of course, he has already started losing his mind, but the intoxication makes it quicker and more violent. It's also worth noticing both he and Wake are completely smashed in the ending, which only fuels their obsessions and paranoias. It's truly horrifying.

So drink responsibly, sweethearts!

Of course, I'm not saying that the rest of the film isn't scary at all... However, I'd rather call it creepy. While it has some more typical scares, like the scene with severed head in the basket, it mostly relies on unsettling atmosphere and damn, it's done awesomely. The audiovisual side is perfect. Sparse music (most sounds are the in-universe ones) and deep shadows create amazing uneasy feelings. Also, recording the movie on an old tape in black and white was great idea. Because of that, most scenes are incredibly dark with very few bright points. The fact we can't see everything only adds to the general creepiness.

Actually, I really enjoyed the supernatural aspect of the story, or rather the ambiguity of it. To the end we have no idea who Wake actually is (is he even human?!), what's going on with the siren (I think Winslow is hallucinating her, but it's only my interpretation) and what actually was on the top of the lighthouse. The general mindfuck is aided by the montage, which tends to be very trippy. However, my favourite thing is the addiction of sexual themes. It isn't very explicit, but blends with the rest pretty well, fleshing out the general squickiness. To be honest, I wish more horror creators added erotica to their works, fear and sex go together awesomely (which is why Luca Guadagnino's "Suspiria" is my absolutely favourite movie ever. The mix of horror and sensuality here is done perfectly).

But let's omit the standard "How to have sex with a mermaid?" discussion, it isn't that important, at least not now.

Time for a little digression, because there is one thing this movie made me think of. When Wake insults Winslow, he often calls him a dog. Later, when the tables turn, Winslow makes Wake behave like one. During this scene I was asking myself "Why is comparing anyone to a dog something offensive?". Damn, even now calling someone a "dog" is insulting. Quick research showed me people often consider dogs as inferior to them, so comparing someone to one suggests we view this person as worse. To be honest, I think it's a relic of the past that should be dropped as soon as possible. Dogs are loyal, friendly and love their humans unconditionally. They are absurdly cute too. Also, media depict them as human's best friends. Taking this all into consideration, the fact that in 21st century "dog" still is an insult is a prime example of hypocrisy. Times change and language should too.

Coming back to the topic: actually, I really enjoyed watching "The Lighthouse". I expected an artistic, slow burn horror and got it. Of course, it took me a while to get used to the visuals (I usually don't watch black and white movies), but they didn't bother me as much as I thought they would. However, I'm not sure if I can recommend this movie. It's brutal, crazy, full of mindfuck and sometimes obscene. And awesome.

So awesome.

PS I made a Twitter account earlier this month. I'm pretty active there (or at least more active than on this blog), so if you want to be up to date with my shit, see WIPs or read some of my contextless thoughts, follow @kikihakanate. Thank you in advance, sweethearts!

Image sources:
All movie stills were screenshot by me from the official trailer and belong to A24.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyag7lR8CPA

The poster: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7984734/mediaviewer/rm2887891457

Seagull poster: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7984734/mediaviewer/rm3720710145

The most cursed crossover nobody asked for...

...but I had to do. But let's start from the beginning.

My relationship with "Boku no Hero Academia" is pretty complicated. To be honest, it's one of the series I'm interested into, but don't want to read/watch. I mean, I'm very much into fan works: fan fiction, various AUs, fan arts, just everything. I also like the lore and several characters (or rather fans' interpretations of said characters). However, the story itself isn't interesting enough for me to get involved. That's why I prefer sticking to fanon, while supplementing information about canon with other sources (all hail TV Tropes).

Of course, my little interest in the plot doesn't stop me from making my own stories and OCs. I even created a lovechild for my favourite ship.

Meet Reimi. Isn't she cute?

However, as you can judge from post's title, OCs aren't what I'm going to focus on now.

Several days ago I was procrastinating taking a break from university's stuff and somehow ended on "Midsommar's" subreddit. After spending almost whole evening scrolling through memes and edits I got a crazy idea: what would happen if "Midsommar" got mashed with "Boku no Hero Academia"? Of course, random concepts like that tend to be the most absorbing and, after some time of thinking about it, I decided to draw Tomura Shigaraki as Dani.

And this is what this post is going to be about: drawing. So fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride!

But I can't draw without music, can I?

I just needed an excuse to say Technolorgy is my latest musical obsession.

As always, I begin with head. This time the drawing was done solely digitally, so I didn't have to worry about scanning it and transferring to my laptop.

Drawing without any references is a big no-no for me, so I had to have my browser opened. I always peek at photos of characters and situations I'm currently working on. This time I wanted to do something inspired by "Midsommar's" ending.

And I needed a good picture of this dress.

Because most of Shiggy's body was meant to be hidden by flowers, I didn't have to focus on it that much.

I only had to determine how big the dress would be.

However, I had a problem with face. Horikoshi's style differs much from mine and I couldn't decide if I wanted to copy it (which would look weird with my lining and colouring) or draw the face as I usually do it. I finally settled somewhere in the middle.

But let's be honest: Tomura's eyes are strange in general.

I also did a rough sketch of hair, so it would be easier for me to draw them later.

Don't mind the line above the forehead, I will explain it later.

When the sketch was ready I could do the line art. I decided to do the colourful one. However, it always causes problems with choosing right colour. But there is one MyPaint's feature that is extremely helpful with it.

Meet Scratchpad!

Before doing the line art I had to choose the skin colour. I decided on something similar to the one from anime: very pale with slight, sickly yellow tint. The line art had to be similar shade, but much darker.

I needed a few trials.

After this I could do the proper line art.

Not that there was much lining to do.

The album ended in the middle of lining and I decided to change the mood a little.

I had to make a break after second track, because my crush sent me a song to try. I usually don't listen to other things during albums, but a song from crush is a song from crush, I couldn't help it.

For me, line art is often one of the longest parts of creating an art piece. Not this time.

The reason is obvious.

After that I could upload the file to Krita and colour it.

Then I went back to MyPaint to work on face.

That grin came out creepier than I planned.

From what I've notices, there are two main schools of drawing wide smiles: with all teeth contoured or only slightly highlighted. I think it's obvious which one I follow...

Artistic choice or laziness? Decide for yourself.

Then I drew the scars...

Fun fact: I think scars are sexy.

...and proceeded to hair. And this is where the real fun started!

First step: determine the colours and paint the base.

I'll be honest: it was horror. Tomura's hair are long and unkempt and with my way of drawing... See it for yourself.

If you focus, you will be able to hear me screaming profanities.

Especially while cleaning the picture.

Quick check, if everything is fine.

After finishing hair, I could start drawing flowers.

And this is what the line was for.

It helped me with positioning the flower crown.

Painting the crown was tiring. And then I glanced at the dress' outline...

...and realised how fucked I was.

As my ex-girlfriend summed it up: "You chose a character with million tiny scars on his face to dress him in million flowers. Congratulations on ambition".

I planned to paint all flowers manually, so yeah, I was ambitious...

 I was painting flowers in layers to make it easier. I managed to do three...

I made layers I wasn't working on semitransparent to avoid confusion.

...before going "oh, fuck it!" and switching to Krita. Why? Because then I could just copy and paste this shit!

It sped up the work a little.

This artwork made me question my own sanity.

No, really!

When I was satisfied with amount of flowers, I switched back to MyPaint to fill the gaps.

This time the active layer is semitransparent.

 I also had to arrange the layers a little bit to make them look nice.

I think I'm done with painting those little assholes flowers for at least a year...

The last layer was just some splashes of colour to cover empty places...

This dress will haunt me in my nightmares.

...and done!

Never. Again.

Of course, that wasn't the end: I still had million tiny scars to do!

Stop fucking staring at me!

I drew the scars with a pencil and used a lighter colour than the big ones, so they wouldn't blend. Then I chose another pencil, drew a second layer around eyes and on the neck...

...and made it semitransparent.

After that I only had to choose the background.

The dress is very vivid, so plain colour was fine.

And done! After exporting the image to PNG I only had to frame it and add a copyright note. You can notice I decided to abandon my "standard" note in favour of my DeviantArt account link. No particular reason, I just got fed up with the previous one.

Anyway, here is the finished piece!

The May Queen... King... Damn, you get the idea.

You can see and download the HD version on my DeviantArt. (I hope everything works, I still don't get how to use Eclipse...)

And please, don't ask me, why Shigaraki. To be honest, I have no bloody idea...




Image sources:
Dani and flowers: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8772262/mediaviewer/rm1884590593