The weekend has arrived, Dear Reader. I don’t know about you, but this has been a particularly tired and trying winter for me – weekends feel a little bit like hibernation. Not many on the list this week, and for the most part I’d call this week’s watches horror-adjacent more than anything else.
In order of date and time watched:
Martha Marcy May Marlene – This drama thriller is full of dread, suspense, and stomach-twisting discomfort. I want to appreciate it as a beautiful story that allows for the ambiguity of an unreliable narrator, but it played too realistic for me. That is to say, all of the elements that made it beautiful and realistic also made it so thoroughly unpleasant that not even the gorgeous face of Hugh “Once-Voted-His-University’s-Most-Beautiful-Man-And-Most-Beautiful-Woman” Dancy could lighten the mood. This movie contains heavy themes of sexual violence, coercive cults, and all sorts of abuse. Watch safely if you choose to.
Don’t Bother to Knock – This 1952 thriller is dark, sexy, dangerous, and tragic all at once. It stars Marilyn Monroe in a role I was not expecting to see from her – Monroe as babysitter Nell is impulsive and chaotic. It is clear right away that she has dangerous tendencies, and the hotel where she’s stationed experiences quite a few mysteries over the course of an evening because of her antics. This movie blew away my expectations of what a Monroe film could be. I’m so used to her sexpot appearances in musical comedies. This shows a totally different side of her.
The Child – This was a weird little taste of low-budget 1970s horror. It had that lovely pastel gothic imagery that I’ve come to associate with what I call “70s soft horror”. While this movie felt somewhat soft in aesthetic, it still served some really creepy scares! Is the zombie makeup just kind of a white smear of acrylic paint? Sure, but it worked! Did they only have one “face ripped clean off” prosthetic which they so gingery laid upon the faces of the monsters’ various victims? Sure. I don’t care. I think it’s awesome. 70’s horror is awesome. The story isn’t developed enough to matter that much; it’s got creepy kids, mysterious monsters, foggy cemeteries, and the aforementioned low-budged sfx makeup. Most importantly, it has the weirdest, wildest MOOG synthesizer score.
Watch List 48% watched (216/448). Last updated 1/9/2025.
This Week’s Sunday Scratch-Off Is…
The Conjuring! This will be a re-watch for me but a first time for my husband – we share a love of and disdain for anything regarding the Warrens in real life, so it should be a fun watch. Whether or not you decide to watch along, check back in Sunday for our thoughts and impressions.
Until then, Dear Reader, the horrors may persist, but you’re silk on one side and sandpaper on the other.
The Horrors Persist 
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