Hola Amigos!

As usual, I’ve been spending copious amounts of time watching simulated murder on a huge screen, while eating popcorn, like the scumbag that I am, and I’m here to let you know what I’ve thought. Yes, this is exactly like THAT League Of Gentlemen sketch.

Contains Spoilers for The Belko Experiment and Raw.

The Belko Experiment

Come On Casual Murder Friday, Let’s Get Sickening!

Now, admittedly, I went into this with low expectations. I’m far more interested in paranormal horror, and the story line did seem a bit like Battle Royale, but with grown ups, so I was a bit sceptical, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The film has a beautiful soundtrack, that really embraces Latin music, and celebrates the location of the film. I did laugh quite a bit when a Spanish version of I Will Survive played over the opening credits, and once the melody got going a bit and those who didn’t recognise it from the start understood what it was, the English speakers finally got the joke and joined me, so that was a really nice touch, and very clever foreshadowing.

The Belko Experiment was an honest and harrowing look at how humans will react, when in desperate circumstances, and that is truly what makes horror movies great. Nobody is more honest than when faced with death, and the film did a great job of displaying that, while also demonstrating the importance of doing a background check on an employer that sounds too good to be true.

Raw

I wouldn’t advise eating during this movie, unless you are as desensitised and disturbed as I, unfortunately am.

I’m somebody who loves films with subtitles, to be quite honest. I have a short attention span, and tinnitus in my right ear, so subtitles help me to keep up if I get distracted and are also helpful for very quiet scenes where I sometimes literally can’t hear everything. Films from overseas always have subtitles, so it’s pretty much ideal for me. Cannibal films however, are not. I’m not scared of cannibals, honestly. If someone came at me with a knife and fork and told me I looked delicious, I’d take it as a come on rather than a threat. To be real, I’d have to be dead for someone to successfully eat me, so if I’m dead, there is nothing to be afraid of. With that in mind, I wasn’t sure about going to see Raw. The trailer was intriguing, so I decided to give it a shot.

Admittedly, I wasn’t scared of the actual cannibalism, or even grossed out, but the idea of uncontrollable urges to do something so forbidden by society was something that stayed with me for a few days.

It was a beautifully made film, with a chilling aesthetic, and a wonderful score, and the performances were excellent. Combining a coming of age story with literal cannibalism might not be something most would think to do, but it gave such a harrowing visual of how difficult young people can find it to adapt to existing on their own and finding their own identity, when everything is micro managed for them until they leave home.

I’m still learning things about myself, and who knows what else I have to discover. I just hope my parents didn’t hide something as life changing as cannibalism from me!

Besos,
J x

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