American Horror Story
A quick overview of the high highs and middling disappointments in horror this year.
With the social media app formerly known as Twitter now a shell of its former self, horror fans have been forced to return to Facebook to continue such interminable debates as “What does or doesn’t qualify something as ‘horror’?” “What the hell is ‘elevated horror,’ anyway?” “Are remakes inherently bad?” “Have horror movies gotten too ‘woke’?” “Were we wrong for letting women make horror?”
In a year when both David Gordon Green and M. Night Shyamalan released new movies, the horror discourse was especially spicy, and that’s before we get to the really interesting stories, like the surprise viral success of Skinamarink, which, with the way time seems to be passing nowadays, feels like it was released five years ago. Both indie and mainstream horror made daring choices, not looking to appeal to as broad a range of audiences as possible, and treating the genre as a serious art form, as opposed to just a machine that prints money. But the biggest surprise came in October, with the release of Saw X, the tenth film in a seemingly unkillable franchise, which ended up being one of the best, most coherent entries in the entire series. Continue Reading →
Only Murders in the Building
Similar3rd Rock from the Sun,
Agatha Christie's Poirot American Horror Story,
Black Books Bodies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Hospital Playlist I Love Lucy, Komi Can't Communicate, Love, Victor, Loveless, Murder in the Heartland, Murder Most Horrid, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Noah's Arc, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Stand Up!!, Star and Sky: Star in My Mind, That '70s Show, The Nanny, Thriller, Twin Peaks,
Studio20th Television,
The surprise, sustained hit Only Murders in the Building brands itself as a comedy-mystery on Hulu. But, as season three hits the streaming service, with another murder for the Arconian trio of Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) to solve, something becomes apparent. The series isn’t going for big laughs. Instead, it provides warmth, small chuckles, and genial goodness between the triumvirate. The show remains about found family, intergenerational friendships, and murder mysteries. It’s perhaps best described as a cozy mystery, a murder show with a heart of gold, an oxymoron of concepts. Continue Reading →
Love, Victor
SimilarNoah's Arc, Raven's Home,
Roswell Stand Up!!,
Studio20th Television,
When Greg Berlanti’s Love, Simon arrived three years ago, it was hailed as groundbreaking — mostly because it was the first major studio rom-com centering on a gay character. But valid criticisms soon came from the queer community, saying that the movie is too white and its depiction of coming-out is a tad too tidy and sanitized. Continue Reading →