Haunted Houses
Lili’s Pick: Lake Mungo
Lanie’s Pick: Ju-on: The Grudge
I really, really wish I had more positive things to say this week, but this Double Feature Thursday, we inevitably viewed horror films that just didn’t cut it. My sister and I are particularly terrified of haunted house stories, because, well, we live in a house, but somehow neither of these films were able to leave us scared or shook. Ju-on: The Grudge is one of the first films in the Grudge franchise—I say “one of the first” because there are eleven other Grudge films, all out of chronological order, so it makes it nearly impossible to track the exact timeline of this story. If you’re one of those people who doesn’t mind nonlinear storytelling, you can presumably dive into any of the Grudge films first, but even though I may disagree, this one is listed as “the first”. It was enjoyable, but only slightly scary, as the scares eventually became predictable and a bit gimmicky. It’s not a bad movie by any means, and definitely has a few frightening moments, but I guarantee it’s not the scariest movie you’ll ever see, despite multiple lists that claim this. Lake Mungo, in an entirely different, slightly more frustrating way, also did not live up to its hype. Whats so frustrating about this film is the fact that it does such an excellent job of setting up for terror. There were all the makings of a truly terrifying movie here: a tragic death, a girl with a secret, a haunted house, all framed by a true crime recounting of the story. And while I very much enjoyed the documentary-style as a means to tell the story, the “found footage” never really found its footing. Never, even in its tensest, most menacing moments does this movie fully deliver. I feel like some filmmakers must think that jump scares cheapen a horror film, and if that’s true they’re definitely overthinking. Scare me dude! Please make this rising action count, and don’t let alllll of that exposition go to waste. A scary atmosphere can definitely be effective, but if it never leads you to a definitive moment of fright then, to me, there’s no point. Call me a philistine but I love a good slasher, or really any film that can just jolt me with an unexpected scare. Even if there is little to no exposition, I’ll take it if I am guaranteed to be s h o o k. I dunno, it tried I guess. But I’m honestly a bit surprised that so many people call this film underrated, and how it has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I’m not a hater, I’m just a horror lover. And this experience was not particularly stimulating.
