Hi guys! I hope things are going well (midterms really kicked my butt this year but we're surviving). But I'm back and just in time for spooky season! I don't think I've ever done a holiday based post on my blog before so I'm really excited to start now. Besides, we could use some fun in October so let's get into it! My favorite horror movie is SAW. If you didn't know, now you know. I never thought I'd have a favorite horror movie; when I was younger I thought I was scared of everything so shoutout to my dad because we bonded over my fear. Haha. No, not really, but now that I'm older I'm definitely on the lookout for my next 'favorite horror film' and frankly, I'm not holding my breath. In searching, I've noticed a trend in the newer horror movies. 1. They're not really scary. 2. They're lame. This judgment does not apply to Jordan Peele's films because that man is a freaking genius. Although, I'm not sure if it's because he emphasizes the more scary reality through his social commentary in Get Out or just the simple fact that I'm not really sure about that ending in Us. Either way, that man is a king. Everything else though? Eh. The newest horror movie is The Babysitter and YouTube has been flooding me with its trailer. And I like to watch trailers so I watched it and it seemed like a cheesy 2010 film. 'Oooh kids fighting for their lives in a comedic way' but what is it really saying? I don't know. Maybe It's just me because I'm not a big fan of jump scares. Conjuring 2 was eh. Halloween was amazing the first time. Omen and Excorcist were okay, but SAW? That was a psychological thriller I had to watch again on my own. But I know how older movies might not be seen as relevant or being as scary in today's world because of the newfound knowledge we've gained about the world. Certain things just don't make sense, but Saw is timeless so in rewatching it I wanted to share some of the key things I thought would be relevant in 2020. (Or maybe I just want to selfishly encourage you to watch the film. You can choose. Haha). Firstly, I have to admit, I am no longer scared of SAW, however it's really a freaking phenomenal movie. I genuinely don't think I've been really scared of a horror movie after i've watched it more than once, but if I watch it more than once then it's a good movie (which means something because I've definitely rewatched bad or cheesy romance movies but never horror. I go into horror with the purpose of being scared. I go into romcoms for the happily ever after.) However, I love the way this movie makes you think. Not necessarily because you have to but because you want to. What is SAW? SAW starts with two men waking up in a filthy bathroom chained and trapped with a bunch of clues as to how they got there and ways on how to get out. It flashes back to previous victims of the serial killer named Jigsaw, as detectives try to catch the killer. All the while the clock is ticking for these two men to escape and one of their family's is in danger. I think that's all I can give you without spoiling too much but a few fun facts about the film. All the scenes in the film were shot in one room. It was a low budget film and it started with two guys doing all the work themselves only for them to revolutionize horror and expand (their budget) and the series in only a few short years. I learned through my film class that it was also a social commentary on prisoner abuse in 2004 which I thought was really cool. Lessons It teaches: 1. Live your life valuably- I really love the way this movie made me rethink life decisions. Alcoholism, doing drugs, cheating, and abuse are extreme situations that each have extenuating and individual circumstances (meaning: not all all of these people are bad people, not all of these people are the extreme definitions that have been portrayed on tv and in the media, sometimes people just have issues that they need to work out but it doesn't excuse their tendencies, especially at the risk and harm of others and this excludes violence of all sorts) but the moral of the story (and movie) at least for me was that doing these things ruin your life for yourself and for those around you so why do them? (Not me literally) but in the hypothetical, would these people want to change or regret the way they acted in their life just because they were shown what it means to truly live their lives? Should they survive, would they actually be grateful for being able to survive something like that? To be honest, I'm not sure. For alcoholics and drug addicts I think there's a huge part of them that's also a victim to their addiction as much as they partake in it (but that's just me) and high stress situations might drive them over the edge. But someone who cheats on his wife, is he a shitty person? Sure, but does he deserve to die for it? Nah. Now I won't speak for someone who's a verbal or physical abuser though I'm not sure if this situation will curb the violent tendencies or simply add to the trauma that turned them into this person in the first place. However, the fact that these are existential questions to even ponder and for someone who was so young then (me), looking at the consequences for the way these people lived their lives definitely gave its valued effect. I wanted to make sure I made the right decisions in life for me and those around me by not drinking or doing drugs. (I was 12). But it also just makes you value the parts of the your life that are good because it could be worse. You could end up in one of those damn rooms and then what would you do? To be honest, I'm not sure I would even survive. 2. Sometimes people have the right to be angry at the world- Everyone has something shitty in their past or present. I mean look at us now. This pandemic? Our government affairs? The BLM movement? I'm pretty sure we can all relate to having something happen to us, even if it's still happening now. But the anger you feel for the misfortune in your life doesn't give you the right to take it out on others who you're angry at, jealous of, even if those people are the ones purposefully making your life a living hell. (Looking at you Trump). However, people have the right to be angry. For whatever reason, or whoever it is. But for me to sit back and realize that and identify with the villain in that aspect as the story began to unfold was baffling to me. And it made it even scarier because on some simplistic level, this anger, resentment and even sense of indignation and cause for vengeance can live inside of us. Maybe it does. And that doesn't make us bad people because we're obviously not acting on it and not trying to kill people but it makes you relate to the villain and to me that's what makes this movie scary, because it feels real. You realize you can also be the bad guy in real life or when watching this movie and in a weird way, it's kind of cool the way the movie does that. I mean, it's totally fucked up what happens in this film but you're never an outsider when watching this movie; you're always connected to it or someone in some way, to all aspects of this and it draws out these emotions of anger, panic, desperation, and true fear for your life and your loved ones. To then to sit with the thought that you could have done this to yourself? That you did this and caused this consequence? (Again, not literally.) That was crazy to me. I Loved it. 3. Would would you do in that situation?- This movie is known for its traps and my goodness are they good. They seem impossible and the puzzle on who it is and what's the motive behind them just keeps on building but when you really look at it--the traps and the reason for why this is happening--it's the startling reality that you could possibly get out of this extremely terrible situation. If you were able to stop and think clearly and maybe if you just had all the pieces to the puzzle or took a little more time to figure it out. But what this movie does again is make us realize our emotions. Because then when you put yourself in those situations (and you do. There's no way you don't sit there and think about whether or not you'd be able to survive those traps, realistically). It doesn't matter how logical we are, how we rationalize or reason and take our time to think, our heightened emotions of fear and panic and desperation will most likely always win out and SAW plays on that, jigsaw feeds on that and expects it and that's how he wins. And the ironic part of it is, he should be feeling the same thing for the realities of his own life and yet, all he feels is acceptance for his situation and redirects that fear into anger and hatred. How quickly our emotions can turn on us in the most crucial of situations. (The traps are a part of Jigsaw's previous victims and the realities of his life are explained at the end of the film.) How this relates to 2020 To be honest, this might all be a stretch but going off of the life lessons I just mentioned in SAW, I think we all value parts of our lives just a little bit more because of the pandemic. I'm not saying anything in the film directly relates to our lives today but I think the feelings and emotions attached to film definitely can apply to today. We will always value the time we had before quarantine where we could do things more "freely" without caution, we'll always value the time we were able to spend at home (if it was a good experience) during quarantine that we'll probably never have again, we've probably learned to value the way we care for ourselves and others in the way we react to wearing masks and keeping others safe. And we'll also learn how to value our independence and freedom when we see so many social justice issues coming to light and the fight for justice prevails just as the fight for our lives continues to proceed us. I think in this same way, we all have the right to be angry: at those who are in power, at those who choose not to care about others and put everyone at risk; at those who simply disregard human rights and justice for marginalized groups. But just like I explained in the context of the film, we also realize that it's not cause for irrationality, it's just a call to action and we'll always remember that, no matter who we are. And finally, instead of trying to figure out ways on how to get out of traps, asking ourselves the question of "what would I do in that situation" in real life allows us to empathize with those whose lives we typically don't know about, never understood before, never cared to educate ourselves on, and it allows us to grow into better people for the sake of humanity. So if the movie can't encourage you, I encourage you to ask yourself that question everyday the moment you're quick to judge someone for something they've done or the life decisions they've made because what are they up against? And how do you hold more privilege over them in order to say you don't understand and maybe never will? But what will you do to learn how to make this world a better place for everyone? Like I said, it might be a stretch and you may watch SAW and think everything I just said was a load of bull but either way, these 2020 life lessons will always apply so I hope you take them with a grain of salt. In conclusion: No one has the right to determine who deserves to live and die (shoutout to our government). No one is ever entitled to that much power even though everyone has the power to abuse whatever privilege they have in order to extort vengeance or anger on another person. It doesn't make it right but just the very fact that you can understand the villain's logic and his anger--though his misplaced anger is never an excuse--is big. Bigger than a random serial killer with a blonde fetish, for sure in the context of horror films. And I thought the impact in that statement alone just makes the whole movie seem more real but also allows the audience to connect with the characters and the situations in the movie a whole lot more. You're thrown into this situation with them, discovering clues with them and you don't know what to think and you couldn't even begin to guess that ending because I sure as hell didn't (and I usually always try). So when I can't guess the ending, I get to participate in a film mentally, and the plot twist isn't completely left field, I'd say that's a freaking great movie. So...watch it. It's relevant, it's fun, it's scary and you're really going to love that ending. Trust me. It's also a series, but I haven't watched all 7 movies. I also did not watch Jigsaw which came out in 2017 and I see that they might be making a spinoff in 2021 so I guess look out for that. I stopped watching after the first three so let me know if they're still any good past that. (Long series' can bore me). Otherwise, I recommend the first three for sure. Now, I can't say I've seen all the Halloween movie trailers that are planning on coming out this year (2020 was horrific enough. Too soon? Sorry, I needed to lighten up the mood a little bit.) but I've realized the past couple of years that the horror movies just don't deliver in the same way the classics do. Want my top 5 list? Check out my Instagram, I posted them on there. (I know, I'm so bad for tricking you like that). But I'll even link it here for you so you can go straight to it. See? I'm so nice. Lol. Anyways, I also know that I'm Thinking of Ending Things is out on Netflix and I haven't watched it yet because I want to read the book first but I'm putting it out there that I hope it's good. Don't tell me if it is or isn't. I'd rather be disappointed for myself just in case. All in all, watch SAW because it’s fucking phenomenal and Hollywood? If you're going to make a scary movie, make me fear for my life. I like a little adventure when I go to sleep at night because I definitely was scared Jigsaw was going to come after me in my sleep.
(You can stream SAW on Amazon Prime. Freaking 3.99 but totally worth it.) Always with love, Arianna
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AuthorI'm an 21 year old girl who lives in NY. I love to read and write and fashion is my life. Follow me to find out more! Archives
January 2023
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