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glitter_n_goreBoy, have I had a time trying to watch this movie. I missed seeing it in theaters. I forget why. Although this came out last October, so I might've just been burned out on movies in general. Of course, when there's something on my list that I don't catch in theaters, the assumption is that I'll be able to watch the DVD later.
Except, the DVD does not exist.
It's only available on BluRay and streaming, which I have ranted about elseweb, so I won't repeat it here. There's a tangential rant to be made about the choke hold certain streaming services have on their viewers nowadays, but . . . later.
Someone suggested I check Red Box. I did. Couldn't get it there either. One wonders if the Red Box even had the standard DVD at one point, or if it would've turned out to be the BluRay as well. At some point I resigned myself to waiting for it to come to Netflix, which it would have to eventually, but probably not anytime soon.
Then I made the mistake of watching Nyx Fears' vlog review. She made it sound awesome, and I always agree with her, so I HAD to see it after that. Finally made the decision to just rent the damn thing on iTunes.
Had to change my password, because of course; had to update my billing info, because of course; had to commit to watching it in brief, 30-to-50 minute chunks at a time, all within 48 hours, after which it would disappear from my rentals, because OF COURSE.
After the absolute CHORE that it was to get my eyeballs on this movie, all I could think when I finally hit "Play" was, "This had better be worth it."
Readers, it is worth it.
Might as well say upfront that while I appreciate how influential and important D'Ario Argento's original film is to the horror genre, I'm . . . not a huge fan. It's style over substance, very flashy and visually interesting, includes many now iconic images and sequences, but if you stop to think about the "plot" for more than three seconds, it makes no sense. And everyone was continually mispronouncing the word "coven." I also remember thinking, "HM, there sure isn't as much DANCING in this movie set in a DANCE STUDIO as I would've expected."
So having the dance be such a focal point of this remake was a fantastic idea that paid off big. The choreography, frenetic and sensual and provocative, isn't just for aesthetic purposes: it is an essential plot element, woven so seamlessly into everything else--the main protagonist's journey, the way she fits with the studio as a whole, and the fact that this particular performance is a swan song for this particular choreographer--that the conclusion feels like the finale of an opera or an epic ballet. And not just because it's neatly divided into Acts, although that was a nice touch.
Classically, dancing has been used as a metaphor for a way of life. If a character struggles with how to dance, for example, it symbolizes them losing their way, or trying to find themselves. With that in mind, Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson) and her natural ability that's so far beyond anything her new compatriots could've expected is a huge clue. She's not just an ingenue. She knows exactly what she wants and is committed to taking it.
Somewhat ironically, having to break the viewing sessions into episodes allowed me to savor it more than watching the whole thing in one sitting would have. Over the course of those 48 hours, my mind was constantly knitting the pieces together, playing back certain scenes or lines of dialogue, and moving towards a number of theories over what was really going on here. Plus, it gave me some truly excellent nightmares.
Let me digress there for a minute, because I feel like people don't understand what I mean when I say that: there's all kinds of nightmares. My least favorite are the ones that replay the most irritating and mundane parts of my day, like trying to find a parking space, or waiting for a drawbridge to close, or navigating through endless construction to get home. (Driving is a recurring theme.) But the scary ones, the gruesome monsters with sharp claws and too-bright eyes, the crumbling houses with twisting corridors that you can't escape--those are the good ones. I have learned to trust those dreams even when they're in the process of scaring me out of me skin, because the monsters are almost always trying to tell me something.
So to see a string of intense, violent, surreal images flash by in Susie's dream sequences was both unsettling and oddly familiar. When I'm not stuck in a car, or having a long, meandering wander in one of my lucid moments, that rapid-fire blur of chaotic weird is pretty much what I see.
There's a moment when Susie thrashes awake from one of these nightmare sequences, screaming, "I know what I am!" And that's it--that's the feeling. That push-pull of terror and revelation that somehow leaves you with just enough clarity to say, "Pay attention, this is important."
I did eventually work out what was going on before the big reveal in the end. Which is not to say I found the ending predictable, but rather inevitable, darkly elegant, and satisfying. Everything was meticulously laid out to lead to this specific place, and it was so perfect in its execution that it actually brought me to tears.
The only problem is now I want to watch it at least six more times to pick apart the background and subtext of every scene to see what I missed, and well, that brings me back to my first problem: no DVD. Because I loved this movie. I want to dive deeper into it. But until the distribution is a little wider and more accessible, I guess all I have are memories, dreams, and sighs.
Except, the DVD does not exist.
It's only available on BluRay and streaming, which I have ranted about elseweb, so I won't repeat it here. There's a tangential rant to be made about the choke hold certain streaming services have on their viewers nowadays, but . . . later.
Someone suggested I check Red Box. I did. Couldn't get it there either. One wonders if the Red Box even had the standard DVD at one point, or if it would've turned out to be the BluRay as well. At some point I resigned myself to waiting for it to come to Netflix, which it would have to eventually, but probably not anytime soon.
Then I made the mistake of watching Nyx Fears' vlog review. She made it sound awesome, and I always agree with her, so I HAD to see it after that. Finally made the decision to just rent the damn thing on iTunes.
Had to change my password, because of course; had to update my billing info, because of course; had to commit to watching it in brief, 30-to-50 minute chunks at a time, all within 48 hours, after which it would disappear from my rentals, because OF COURSE.
After the absolute CHORE that it was to get my eyeballs on this movie, all I could think when I finally hit "Play" was, "This had better be worth it."
Readers, it is worth it.
Might as well say upfront that while I appreciate how influential and important D'Ario Argento's original film is to the horror genre, I'm . . . not a huge fan. It's style over substance, very flashy and visually interesting, includes many now iconic images and sequences, but if you stop to think about the "plot" for more than three seconds, it makes no sense. And everyone was continually mispronouncing the word "coven." I also remember thinking, "HM, there sure isn't as much DANCING in this movie set in a DANCE STUDIO as I would've expected."
So having the dance be such a focal point of this remake was a fantastic idea that paid off big. The choreography, frenetic and sensual and provocative, isn't just for aesthetic purposes: it is an essential plot element, woven so seamlessly into everything else--the main protagonist's journey, the way she fits with the studio as a whole, and the fact that this particular performance is a swan song for this particular choreographer--that the conclusion feels like the finale of an opera or an epic ballet. And not just because it's neatly divided into Acts, although that was a nice touch.
Classically, dancing has been used as a metaphor for a way of life. If a character struggles with how to dance, for example, it symbolizes them losing their way, or trying to find themselves. With that in mind, Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson) and her natural ability that's so far beyond anything her new compatriots could've expected is a huge clue. She's not just an ingenue. She knows exactly what she wants and is committed to taking it.
Somewhat ironically, having to break the viewing sessions into episodes allowed me to savor it more than watching the whole thing in one sitting would have. Over the course of those 48 hours, my mind was constantly knitting the pieces together, playing back certain scenes or lines of dialogue, and moving towards a number of theories over what was really going on here. Plus, it gave me some truly excellent nightmares.
Let me digress there for a minute, because I feel like people don't understand what I mean when I say that: there's all kinds of nightmares. My least favorite are the ones that replay the most irritating and mundane parts of my day, like trying to find a parking space, or waiting for a drawbridge to close, or navigating through endless construction to get home. (Driving is a recurring theme.) But the scary ones, the gruesome monsters with sharp claws and too-bright eyes, the crumbling houses with twisting corridors that you can't escape--those are the good ones. I have learned to trust those dreams even when they're in the process of scaring me out of me skin, because the monsters are almost always trying to tell me something.
So to see a string of intense, violent, surreal images flash by in Susie's dream sequences was both unsettling and oddly familiar. When I'm not stuck in a car, or having a long, meandering wander in one of my lucid moments, that rapid-fire blur of chaotic weird is pretty much what I see.
There's a moment when Susie thrashes awake from one of these nightmare sequences, screaming, "I know what I am!" And that's it--that's the feeling. That push-pull of terror and revelation that somehow leaves you with just enough clarity to say, "Pay attention, this is important."
I did eventually work out what was going on before the big reveal in the end. Which is not to say I found the ending predictable, but rather inevitable, darkly elegant, and satisfying. Everything was meticulously laid out to lead to this specific place, and it was so perfect in its execution that it actually brought me to tears.
The only problem is now I want to watch it at least six more times to pick apart the background and subtext of every scene to see what I missed, and well, that brings me back to my first problem: no DVD. Because I loved this movie. I want to dive deeper into it. But until the distribution is a little wider and more accessible, I guess all I have are memories, dreams, and sighs.