![]() But at the same time, it’s Christmassy in its own way – precisely because it’s playing on the juxtaposition between brutal violence and the iconography of the season. There are no musical numbers, no frogs with tuberculosis, and its bleak ending is anything but redemptive. The fact that it looks dated and low-budget only adds to its aura of evil, as does its setting in a fictional country which resembles an off-kilter, uncanny version of the US (“Canada”). But it’s slower-paced and stranger than its imitators – I wouldn’t describe it as scary so much as creepy. Predating Halloween by four years, it’s often considered the first slasher movie, and it innovated many of the techniques which became hallmarks of the genre. The story follows a group of young women, living together at a sorority house, who are menaced by a series of phone calls and then murdered. If I am being honest, my favourite Christmas film is The Muppet Christmas Carol, but what left is there to say about a masterpiece so universally revered? So I am instead choosing the only film that has even ever given me nightmares as an adult: Black Christmas (1974). A chaotic salve for those whose Christmases aren’t all Hallmark card-esque happy families, with a dream green PJ set and fluffy slippers combo from Dawn to boot. ![]() After yelling expletives at her mum and dad, stamping her feet, pulling down the Christmas tree, eventually, she enters into a red hot rage-induced crime spree that leads her directly to the electric chair. Desperate for a pair of cha-cha heels on Christmas morning, all hell breaks loose when she doesn’t receive them – with her parents’ protestations that “nice girls don’t wear cha-cha heels” ringing in her ears she goes ballistic. Arx Allemand (From The Keep Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 4:35. Tangerine Dream - The Keep - 05 Arx Allemand. Tangerine Dream - The Keep - 15 Wardays Sunrise. The 1984 movie stars the late, great, longtime Waters collaborator Divine up front as the bolshy, foul-mouthed Dawn Davenport. Tangerine Dream - The Keep - 11 The Challengers Arrival. While I’d recommend putting a whole host of his work on your festive watchlist, Female Trouble should be number one. Christmas is a grotesque time of mass consumerism, intense gluttony, and frayed nerves, so it makes sense to sit down and watch a little flick by the Prince of Puke himself, John Waters.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |