WiHM, Box Office Retrospective: 2009
Feb. 28th, 2015 11:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glitter_n_goreSince I'm me, I figured it would probably take longer than just the whole of February to get through this project of mine. And here we are, only up to 2009, and it's the last day. So I made a decision: I'm gonna plow ahead and go through 2014 anyway, and we'll see where we end up. Cool? Cool.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon - $296.6 million
Paranormal Activity - $107.9 million
(Zombieland - $75.6 million)
(The Final Destination - $66.5 million)
(My Bloody Valentine - $51.5 million)
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - $45.8 million
The Unborn - $42.7 million
Drag Me to Hell - $42.1 million
Orphan - $41.6 million
(Halloween 2 - $33.4 million)
(The Last House on the Left - $32.7 million)
Finally, some fresh blood! Not much, but it's there in the top end--where it counts. Still not a lot of diversity in the casting, unfortunately, but things are getting . . . interesting.
Paranormal Activity: Technically, this movie came out in 2007, but it wasn't until two years later that the viral marketing campaign really started to pay off. This found-footage franchise currently has five films under its belt, six if you count the unofficial Japanese spin-off, Tokyo Night, and another expected for 2015. I've seen the first four. Each movie has grossed no less than $32 million at the box office, with the first ultimately squeezing a whopping $108 million out of its shoestring budget of $15,000. Once you get past the suspension of disbelief required to stop asking why someone whose life is visibly endangered keeps carrying around their goddamn camera (the static night vision shots are more effective), they're pretty fun. And, unlike many horror franchises, they consistently manage to freak me out and make me not want to sleep. This was the first big break for Blumhouse Productions, brainchild of one Jason Blum, which has since gone on to produce a wide variety of low-budget, original genre films channeled through a much bigger-named distributor in order to gain the widest release possible. I've seen several of them--Insidious, The Purge, Sinister, Dark Skies, Oculus--and in my opinion, they just get better and better. I love Blumhouse movies, and I can't wait to see what they throw at us next.
The Unborn: This movie features a 'dybbuk'--a Jewish demon, more or less, which makes this a Jewish exorcism movie, more or less. I've seen exactly two movies with this kind of monster. This is the good one. (I'll get to the other one later.) It went in a direction I didn't expect though, and really surprised me by how much I enjoyed it once I figured out what it's actually about. I won't spoil it for you, but the mystery is well-paced, the effects are kinda cheesy but at least imaginative, and it has Rabbi Gary Oldman! How can you not love Rabbi Gary Oldman? It's a story about sibling rivalry taken to it's most diabolical extreme. It's not fine art, but it's on the high end of popcorn-horror--and a thematic angle I haven't seen a zillion times before, which is always welcome. I wouldn't call this a "twist" ending exactly, but an intersection of two ideas I never would have thought to put together. It's an original piece of work, and I respect that.
Drag Me To Hell: Full disclosure: I hated this. HATED it. Possibly my expectations were set too high. All my fellow Evil Dead superfans loved it, so I don't know if it's a failing on my part or what, but I was so badly disappointed by this movie, I don't even know where to start. Perhaps it's just that Allison Lohman is woefully miscast here? Horror-slapstick is NOT her thing. But more likely is my own inability to care at all about characters I find morally reprehensible. I mean, when it's not in a fun way. Unrepentant psychopaths--sure. Give me those kinds of characters all day long. But privileged, pretty people making bad choices and expecting me to feel sorry for them when those choices have consequences? Yeah--no. I get what Sam Raimi's trying to do here, and I appreciate the effort, but I just hate all these people. Not being invested in whether or not they actually escape their fate in the end deflates all the suspense and tension for me. Still, it's an original story, not a remake or a sequel, and it brought the silly, slapstick edge back to mainstream horror. I should be glad it exists.
Orphan: This one is just full-out, no-holds-barred awesome. Long live Isabelle Fuhrman. I'm still annoyed she didn't get a bigger part in The Hunger Games. I've yet to test its rewatch value, however, because this is one of those rare stories that really does not look the same after you figure out what's going on. Some films just aren't the same film you thought you were watching after the reveal, and I'm curious how this holds up. Still, the real meat of it hangs on the performances of the stellar cast, including Fuhrman, Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, and little Aryana Engineer--all of eight years old (!!!) when this came out. Regardless of what you think you know about "Esther" and her secret, the film works because of how hard they sell it. You know something weird is going on there, something dangerous, and the layers of subtext and secrecy that get peeled back one by one until the conclusion are what keep you watching. And again, another original story that made it to the top of the pile, with audience and critical praise to boot--well done, team.
Last House on the Left: I haven't seen Wes Craven's original "video nasty," or this remake, but I am utterly fascinated by the history behind it. The Craven film isn't the first--it's a modern reimagining of an Ingmar Bergman film called The Virgin Spring, which is itself a cinematic adaptation of a 12th century Swedish ballad called "Töre's daughters in Vänge." Apart from Grimm's fairy tales, what other horror story has a pedigree like that? More importantly--why this story? Why, after hundreds of years, do audiences still want to see this ugly fable repeat itself over and over? Possibly because this exact sort of story repeats in real life, no matter how many centuries pass, and we have a desire to see revenge taken against the people responsible, even if it's only on film? Those are the questions I ask when I think of Last House on the Left, and where it came from. One day I might actually, y'know, watch the movie(s), but honestly this one might be a bit much for me. I lean towards the remake for one very simple, but important reason: the girl lives.
Honorable Mention: The Uninvited - $28.6 million
This is a remake of my very favorite Korean horror movie, A Tale of Two Sisters. It has a similar twist but a wildly different payoff and resolution. Also, if The Messengers was a hair too late getting on the Asian horror tropes bandwagon, this one waited just long enough to make those tropes feel fresh and interesting again. Since I'm so close to the original, I was skeptical, and took my sweet time finally checking it out. I was pleasantly surprised. It's not the most groundbreaking plot I've seen, but creates a convincingly claustrophobic atmosphere. Even if you can spot the twist coming a mile off (You, the one who can spot twists coming a mile off, did you guess this one? Just curious.), the characters feel real enough that the reveal hurts. Plus, if you're in the mood to see Emily Browning play a character who's not constantly victimized by creepy, older men, this is pretty much your only option. Bless her heart.
So, we seem to have not only a wealth of truly original stories here--and this isn't even counting stuff that didn't make the cut, like Jennifer's Body and Thirst and Dead Snow--but an emphasis on "twist" endings that I honestly did not expect. So here's a question: when is a movie only as good as its ending? Are you the kind of moviegoer who likes to watch things over and over, like me? Or do you feel satisfied having only gone through it the one time? If you do like rewatching, does knowing the ending beforehand make the rewatch more interesting, or less? If you're the kind of person who's good at guessing twists, does it "ruin" the ending for you, or do you still feel like you get something out of it?
Curious minds want to know! Tell me your thoughts in the comments, and I will see you in March with 2010!
The Twilight Saga: New Moon - $296.6 million
Paranormal Activity - $107.9 million
(Zombieland - $75.6 million)
(The Final Destination - $66.5 million)
(My Bloody Valentine - $51.5 million)
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - $45.8 million
The Unborn - $42.7 million
Drag Me to Hell - $42.1 million
Orphan - $41.6 million
(Halloween 2 - $33.4 million)
(The Last House on the Left - $32.7 million)
Finally, some fresh blood! Not much, but it's there in the top end--where it counts. Still not a lot of diversity in the casting, unfortunately, but things are getting . . . interesting.
Paranormal Activity: Technically, this movie came out in 2007, but it wasn't until two years later that the viral marketing campaign really started to pay off. This found-footage franchise currently has five films under its belt, six if you count the unofficial Japanese spin-off, Tokyo Night, and another expected for 2015. I've seen the first four. Each movie has grossed no less than $32 million at the box office, with the first ultimately squeezing a whopping $108 million out of its shoestring budget of $15,000. Once you get past the suspension of disbelief required to stop asking why someone whose life is visibly endangered keeps carrying around their goddamn camera (the static night vision shots are more effective), they're pretty fun. And, unlike many horror franchises, they consistently manage to freak me out and make me not want to sleep. This was the first big break for Blumhouse Productions, brainchild of one Jason Blum, which has since gone on to produce a wide variety of low-budget, original genre films channeled through a much bigger-named distributor in order to gain the widest release possible. I've seen several of them--Insidious, The Purge, Sinister, Dark Skies, Oculus--and in my opinion, they just get better and better. I love Blumhouse movies, and I can't wait to see what they throw at us next.
The Unborn: This movie features a 'dybbuk'--a Jewish demon, more or less, which makes this a Jewish exorcism movie, more or less. I've seen exactly two movies with this kind of monster. This is the good one. (I'll get to the other one later.) It went in a direction I didn't expect though, and really surprised me by how much I enjoyed it once I figured out what it's actually about. I won't spoil it for you, but the mystery is well-paced, the effects are kinda cheesy but at least imaginative, and it has Rabbi Gary Oldman! How can you not love Rabbi Gary Oldman? It's a story about sibling rivalry taken to it's most diabolical extreme. It's not fine art, but it's on the high end of popcorn-horror--and a thematic angle I haven't seen a zillion times before, which is always welcome. I wouldn't call this a "twist" ending exactly, but an intersection of two ideas I never would have thought to put together. It's an original piece of work, and I respect that.
Drag Me To Hell: Full disclosure: I hated this. HATED it. Possibly my expectations were set too high. All my fellow Evil Dead superfans loved it, so I don't know if it's a failing on my part or what, but I was so badly disappointed by this movie, I don't even know where to start. Perhaps it's just that Allison Lohman is woefully miscast here? Horror-slapstick is NOT her thing. But more likely is my own inability to care at all about characters I find morally reprehensible. I mean, when it's not in a fun way. Unrepentant psychopaths--sure. Give me those kinds of characters all day long. But privileged, pretty people making bad choices and expecting me to feel sorry for them when those choices have consequences? Yeah--no. I get what Sam Raimi's trying to do here, and I appreciate the effort, but I just hate all these people. Not being invested in whether or not they actually escape their fate in the end deflates all the suspense and tension for me. Still, it's an original story, not a remake or a sequel, and it brought the silly, slapstick edge back to mainstream horror. I should be glad it exists.
Orphan: This one is just full-out, no-holds-barred awesome. Long live Isabelle Fuhrman. I'm still annoyed she didn't get a bigger part in The Hunger Games. I've yet to test its rewatch value, however, because this is one of those rare stories that really does not look the same after you figure out what's going on. Some films just aren't the same film you thought you were watching after the reveal, and I'm curious how this holds up. Still, the real meat of it hangs on the performances of the stellar cast, including Fuhrman, Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, and little Aryana Engineer--all of eight years old (!!!) when this came out. Regardless of what you think you know about "Esther" and her secret, the film works because of how hard they sell it. You know something weird is going on there, something dangerous, and the layers of subtext and secrecy that get peeled back one by one until the conclusion are what keep you watching. And again, another original story that made it to the top of the pile, with audience and critical praise to boot--well done, team.
Last House on the Left: I haven't seen Wes Craven's original "video nasty," or this remake, but I am utterly fascinated by the history behind it. The Craven film isn't the first--it's a modern reimagining of an Ingmar Bergman film called The Virgin Spring, which is itself a cinematic adaptation of a 12th century Swedish ballad called "Töre's daughters in Vänge." Apart from Grimm's fairy tales, what other horror story has a pedigree like that? More importantly--why this story? Why, after hundreds of years, do audiences still want to see this ugly fable repeat itself over and over? Possibly because this exact sort of story repeats in real life, no matter how many centuries pass, and we have a desire to see revenge taken against the people responsible, even if it's only on film? Those are the questions I ask when I think of Last House on the Left, and where it came from. One day I might actually, y'know, watch the movie(s), but honestly this one might be a bit much for me. I lean towards the remake for one very simple, but important reason: the girl lives.
Honorable Mention: The Uninvited - $28.6 million
This is a remake of my very favorite Korean horror movie, A Tale of Two Sisters. It has a similar twist but a wildly different payoff and resolution. Also, if The Messengers was a hair too late getting on the Asian horror tropes bandwagon, this one waited just long enough to make those tropes feel fresh and interesting again. Since I'm so close to the original, I was skeptical, and took my sweet time finally checking it out. I was pleasantly surprised. It's not the most groundbreaking plot I've seen, but creates a convincingly claustrophobic atmosphere. Even if you can spot the twist coming a mile off (You, the one who can spot twists coming a mile off, did you guess this one? Just curious.), the characters feel real enough that the reveal hurts. Plus, if you're in the mood to see Emily Browning play a character who's not constantly victimized by creepy, older men, this is pretty much your only option. Bless her heart.
So, we seem to have not only a wealth of truly original stories here--and this isn't even counting stuff that didn't make the cut, like Jennifer's Body and Thirst and Dead Snow--but an emphasis on "twist" endings that I honestly did not expect. So here's a question: when is a movie only as good as its ending? Are you the kind of moviegoer who likes to watch things over and over, like me? Or do you feel satisfied having only gone through it the one time? If you do like rewatching, does knowing the ending beforehand make the rewatch more interesting, or less? If you're the kind of person who's good at guessing twists, does it "ruin" the ending for you, or do you still feel like you get something out of it?
Curious minds want to know! Tell me your thoughts in the comments, and I will see you in March with 2010!
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no subject
Date: 2015-03-01 08:09 pm (UTC)*Movie studios need to seriously stop with the 'you'll never guess the twist ending' because, come on, that's like a dare I cannot pass up. I'm pretty much 9 out of 10 times right if I know there's a ~twist~ ending.
You, the one who can spot twists coming a mile off, did you guess this one? Just curious.
I guessed half of it.
I figured out Emily Browning's character was the one who started the fire/killed their mother about 6 minutes in and that the step-mother was innocent (ie not evil). Did not guess that the other sister was dead, however.
I looked up the original story The Last House on the Left is based on and have seen the original (Wes Craven's version) and the remake. Both Craven and the remake remove the multi-religion aspect of the original tale and it's really just a "people do horrible things to one another for 2 reasons: 1. they're just plain horrible and 2. they're driven to do horrible things" story. I don't find anything deep or meaningful in Last House.
I think why Last House is popular is the revenge aspect and the culprits "getting their just rewards". It taps into the "eye for an eye" type of belief many people have and, in a way, may fulfill some revenge fantasies that I'm sure a lot of people harbor.
(I just wish these type of revenge movies were different because it seems to ALWAYS be the girl that's the victim of a horrible rape and attempted murder. Like, I think the filmmakers think they're making an empowering movie for women; but I don't find them empowering. See also: I Spit On Your Grave. Both movies just left me feeling horrible at the end.)
If you're the kind of person who's good at guessing twists, does it "ruin" the ending for you, or do you still feel like you get something out of it?
I feel validation. Like I said above, the only thing that pisses me off is the movie studio choosing to market the movie based solely on the ~twist ending. Because sometimes I feel like I get wrapped up in figuring out the twist, I may miss a good movie underneath spotting the clues and cues. Just market the movie without the twist--even if there is a twist--because I may be more interested in re-watching the movie to see "oh, that's why this happened" or "oh, that's what that meant."
Now, some movies can be completely ruined by the twist if the twist makes no goddamn sense. High Tension comes immediately to my mind.
In conclustion: Movie studios shouldn't rely on a ~twist ending to make a movie good. I need other stuff within the movie that supports the twist without undoing or causing major plot holes of earlier scenes. Period.
no subject
Date: 2015-03-05 04:19 pm (UTC)Agree so hard. That gets annoying and old real fast. And even if the twist is interesting, if I know there's a BIG TWIST coming, I feel like I don't get lost in the story as much. Know what I mean?
If you haven't seen the original Tale of Two Sisters (and don't mind reading subtitles), I highly recommend it. The twist is similar, but the atmosphere and cinematography are amazing. Plus, the way it's shot and edited makes it much harder to guess what's going on--at least it did for me. Asian horror likes to play around with time when ghosts are involved; it's very tricky.
Good point about the conflict between old and new religions being a theme in Virgin Spring but not Last House. One theme of several, I'd guess. And you're totally right that things like I Spit On Your Grave and also Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween are better known for creating the Final Girl trope than anything else. The fact that the girls actually fight back/run away was a big deal at the time, but now it's easier to see as just a different form of exploitation.
Ha--I rarely feel validation in twist-ending movies, because I don't usually guess right. And when I do, I feel weirdly disappointed, because I was hoping to be surprised. Possibly because, since I'm not good at guessing, I just assume that if I DID guess right that means the twist was obvious and uncreative, whether that's the case or not. Might be unfair of me, but that's what happens. Which is why I hate spoilers.
Now, some movies can be completely ruined by the twist if the twist makes no goddamn sense. High Tension comes immediately to my mind.
Really? Huh. Now, that's the first negative thing I've heard about that movie, which my French horror film nut at the library spoke highly of. It's sort of legendary in French horror, along with Martyrs and Inside. (Random factoid: Blumhouse is remaking Martyrs. That's going to be . . . interesting. I love that production house, but their style is VERY different from French horror, which I'm honestly not a fan of--too intense for me.)
Agreed on your conclusion that twist endings shouldn't be the sole purpose of the marketing or plot. There has to be something else there, or why bother? I like rewatching movies. (FYI, I've rewatched Tale of Two Sisters four times. Always find something new to appreciate.) I know there are people who don't do that, but I don't get it. I mean, apart from time constraints, if you liked it the first time, why wouldn't you watch it again? To me, it'd be like only listening to your favorite song one time.
no subject
Date: 2015-03-05 05:05 pm (UTC)The fact that the girls actually fight back/run away was a big deal at the time, but now it's easier to see as just a different form of exploitation.
See, I'd separate Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween from Last House and I Spit on Your Grave because at least with the former two the Final Girl is usually terrorized and just wants to survive. The latter is the Final Girl (or girl) is brutalized horribly and then REVENGE is had by her or other people defending her. I'm okay with doing whatever it takes to survive; but I get depressed when the survival is prompted by a sexual assault of some kind. The last two movies it feels like the "evil" gets passed into the victim(s), which allows them to turn the tables on the attackers, and it's almost celebrated that they've "sunk" to the attackers' level. (I Spit on Your Grave more so than Last House. Just. . .Grave (the remake) left me wanting to take a shower for many reasons.)
And when I do, I feel weirdly disappointed, because I was hoping to be surprised.
That right there is why movie studios need to quit with the "surprise ending" marketing angle. Because 1) You're going either guess the ending and a) feel vindicated (me), b) leave disappointed, or c) a combo of both*, or 2) You don't guess the ending and get the surprise feeling the studio is aiming for, depending on how satisfying the "twist" is, of course.
*Sometimes I'm like this, but mostly I'm like, "Suck it, Movie Studio, I guessed the ending correctly. THANK YOU FOR FEEDING MY EGO."
About High Tension: I haven't seen the movie, but it was on my list to-watch, and then I found out the ending and it's very "wait. . .what?" And most people who talk about the movie say that the ending ruined it for them. So YMMV, but I've seen a lot of "this movie was good. . .until the ending" opinions.
Yeah, I don't know why if you like a movie, you don't re-watch it. There are movies I re-watch on occasion for comfort and then there are some where I can't know they're on otherwise I WILL re-watch it no matter how many times I've seen it. (Showtime had Sleepy Hollow playing a few months ago, and I swear I saw it three times within a week because I have no shame.)
no subject
Date: 2015-03-02 03:49 am (UTC)The only thing I remember about 'Drag Me To Hell' was being sad that Bruce Campbell never showed up. I had no strong feelings towards it either way.
And my lasting impression of 'Paranormal Activity' was the "if these people had cats, they would have never known their house was haunted. They would have just kept sleeping."
no subject
Date: 2015-03-05 04:24 pm (UTC)The only thing I remember about 'Drag Me To Hell' was being sad that Bruce Campbell never showed up.
YES, that too! Ugh! He's supposed to cameo in all of Sam Raimi's movies, right? Ah well. At least we have the Evil Dead mini-series to look forward to.
And my lasting impression of 'Paranormal Activity' was the "if these people had cats, they would have never known their house was haunted. They would have just kept sleeping."
LOL. Indeed.