Aug 18, 2020

american pickle verdict:

enjoyable

but not rewatchable

 

Aug 17, 2020

Hmmm, it's been a minute since I've seen it but I didn't get any of that from it personally. I thought all that stuff was just part of the cult, didn't feel random to me and I didn't really feel like it was trying to do anything super deep, just create an unsettling atmosphere. And I might be remembering wrong but I don't think the swedish guy needed to meet them specifically or even that was his sole purpose of studying in the states. And Cults are kinda long cons in general—that's how they get you.

I mentioned this in another thread when talking to @Michael Myers about it, but what I liked about the movie is that it does such a great job of depicting a relationship that's on the outs—where you both know it's over but you haven't been able to admit it to yourselves yet. Watching the two main characters I could really feel that sense of dread in my gut, and it makes you (and them) unsure if the dread/anxiety they're feeling is from the relationship or because something weird is actually going on. I'll have to rewatch it to see if I notice any of the stuff you and MM talked about

 

Aug 17, 2020

@Donkey Kong Cuntry can u elaborate on the lighthouse? I love traditionak horror but also psychological / unsettling stuff (but not midsommar)

Also @Judas Black same for it comes at night tbh

 

Aug 17, 2020

 

Aug 17, 2020

i haven't been this angry at a movie in a while tbh...maybe ever. imo, it was the realest example of "clapping for the wrong reasons".. they introduced incredibly half-baked, border-line random captivating properties to the movie, for the sole reason of introducing arbitrary properties to the movie. the mythology & hieroglyphics, the turning of people into trees, the bear, the sketch that the swedish friend was drawing at the coffee table that was meant to be a sneaky addition to the audience to fool them into thinking someone deep was happening.. it was all arbitrary to get people to applaud for something that the creators themselves seemingly didn't have any specific intention behind. slap enough random interactions/surroundings together, and people will search & clap for unintended deep meanings.

couple all of that with the fact that the entire plot pivoted on an incredibly convenient decision that was out of the hands of the swedish captivator to begin with (the girl invited herself and he had nothing to do with it, despite it having to happen)...plus that all of the individual interactions throughout were so mind bogglingly convenient choices (continuous taking of mind altering drugs, despite people going missing and being killed directly in front of them).. and if you can get over all of that, you also have to accept that you're living in a world where the swedish guy went to university in the states, with the sole intention of creating a longggg con to make these friends, with the intention that a few years later, he would convince them to come on this international trip with him as sacrifices, and that they would all be able to go with him.