We’ve been watching a LOT of horror films. It seems like a tremendously useful and helpful way to challenge negative energy and anxiety during a pandemic… sort of like, “Oh it could be worse”.
Something has happened as the Mumblecore genre of film has matured into genres, but the Mumblegore realm is fascinating. It seems like a bunch of filmmakers who grew up loving cinema, but noticing the bloated notion of letting films run too long with a languid pace and unnecessary spacing between movements forwarding the narrative. Although not in this genre, the recent undervalued and enjoyable film “Underwater” (please more Kristen Stewart leading action roles PLEASE), something happened in the non-sci-fi realm of modern art-house and mumblecore/mumblegore that stopped making films into pretentious exercises of ego stroking, and many have become really down to earth, unpretentious films that are edited briskly, and clock in around 1h20m-1h30m with very real-world acting. And like short 20 minute netflix shows which are PERFECT for parents or limited time moments, these shorter films are just perfect when you don’t want to buckle in for a late night. These are not gore, per se. To identify a couple you and wifey could watch where it’s more psychological, dread, etc… Coherence and The Invitation.
So that being said, some examples (lo-fi horror, not all mumblegore): Get Out, It Follows, Killing of a Sacred Deer, Hereditary, You’re Next, They Come at Night, Creep, Cohesion (just rewatched, fantastic), The Invitation (also fantastic), Samara Weaving is AMAZING in “Ready or Not”, The Witch, The Signal (more scifi), The Ritual, The Dead Center.
Also, massive, massive shout out to A24. What they’re doing at every level is what filmmaking and production should be about.
There’s more, but I think this list nails what are easily, and far-and-away the best. I made a list of genre bending films, and a lot are like this: https://unclefishbits.com/reality-ever-started-unraveling-fast-can-barely-keep-let-alone-survive-well-movies-thats-rubber-reality-genre-works/
With that preface, we watched a movie that was titled something I am VERY CURIOUS ABOUT. Do you know what the Mandela Effect is? Basically, the Mandela Effect is an 80 minute film (on Amazon) about a couple that loses their daughter, and then when he starts peeling back reality, and discovers the world of mass delusion, he starts to lose his grip on what is real. So that’s the film. Watch it. That’s the recommendation.
However… let’s dive into the Mandela Effect—> https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g28438966/mandela-effect-examples/
The above link has pics/photos to compare the memory vs reality….
It was based around a person who discovered that there was a shared mass delusion that Mandela died in prison in the 80s.
But how many of these memories did you have wrong? It’s so fascinating, and when I was studying skepticism/parsimony, I remember an 1841 book called “Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds“. Nice to see we were prepping for infowars and Q-Anon logic just under 200 years ago. Maybe we needed to start early. But going to that link, you’ll see side by sides, but here’s some Mandela Effects people have documented, that most don’t realize:
*C3PO HAS A SILVER LEG. I think I knew that from the Chewie figure that had dissambled threepio on his back.
*Vader never said “Luke I am your father”. There was no Luke, just “I am your father”
*It was Looney Tunes, not Toons.
*Curious George did not have a tail.
*It was never Jiffy peanut butter. Always just Jif.
*It wasn’t Berenstein, but Berenstain bears.
*The Monopoly Man never wore a monocle
*There was no cornucopia in the fruit of the loom logo
*It’s not Flinstones, it’s “Flintstones”.
*It’s “Life *was* like a box of chocolates” not “is”
*Sinbad never played a genie.
So how’s your grip on reality? If it’s not 100%, I do suggest you go to my list of mind-bending, reality warping films, above, and catch up on all the dizzying chaos of the mind. =)