I saw two sequels this week. While I had cheap fun at Independence Day: Resurgence (sometimes at its expense), I flat-out loved The Conjuring 2. Let me try to articulate my happiness. No spoilers, because I want you to see this.
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Archive for June, 2016
Conjuring Joy
Posted: June 29, 2016 in UncategorizedTags: Bava, Dreyer, horror, horror movies, The Conjuring 2, Wan
Notes on Independence Day: Resurgence
Posted: June 27, 2016 in UncategorizedTags: alien invasion, film, Independence Day: Resurgence, science fiction
So we saw Independence Day: Resurgence. Some spoilery thoughts follow.
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Deep Horror Before Jaws: The Monster That Challenged the World
Posted: June 18, 2016 in UncategorizedTags: Creature from the Black Lagoon, giant monsters, horror, Jaws, Monster That Challenged the World, Nature's Fury Blogathon, science fiction, Them!
If Moby-Dick is the biggest literary influence on Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws (apart from the novel on which it was based), its primary cinematic touchstone is Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). Jaws references Creature by recreating a number of shots from the underwater ballet sequence in the opening scene, and by strongly echoing the earlier film’s score in its own. All this being said, Jaws also has points in common with 1957’s The Monster That Challenged the World. I’m hesitant to posit a direct influence (though as we’ll see, there is at least one moment that is pretty strikingly similar). Rather, I’ll say that Monster taps into the same primal fear as Jaws and Creature, and does so quite effectively. (more…)
David Annandale 