#ShudderShutIn

If you haven't heard, Shudder is giving everyone a free trial with the code SHUTIN. So, you don't have to watch boring movies that you've seen a million times. Here are some of my favorite things Shudder has to offer.
I want to do a separate post on the original content on Shudder too. It's great! What do you think?






001. Mandy.
While it's true we are in the worst timeline, at least this is the timeline with the Nicolas Cage renaissance. We stan Nicolas Cage here, because he named himself after Luke Cage. Pero like, have you looked at his filmography lately? Banger after Banger. Nothing but respect for MY Superman/Spiderman/Big Daddy/ Capricorn King. Anyway, Mandy isn't really a horror movie. I think of it more as a action movie with really creepy/cool visuals. It's Taken meets Enter the Void meets Mad Max and some hippies. What's going on? A lot, I can promise you that. I think it's really weird that this movie is slept on outside of horror circles. It actually is a good movie and has 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. I personally like really colorful movies like this and I think more people should give them a chance. They remind me of Gallo films which I find quite pretty. Even if what's being shown is shocking or scary.  
And you know what? I'm just going to say it. We need to bring Prog-Rock back. My favorite thing about this movie was the sound track. Make music progressive again.
Also, if someone asks you how you feel, this now iconic gif from the movie is appropriate. Baby how you feelin'? Caged as Hell! I feel bad for laughing, because when you see the movie, you'll know he is going THROUGH IT. There is a lot of drug use in this movie, i just thought I should put it out there because I wouldn't want to someone to watch this to see Nicolas Cage hunt Bike Demons with an ax and end up getting triggered into some sort of binge. Nikortreatt cares!


002. Three From Hell

So, I really wasn't into this movie. The timing was wrong and that's not anyone's fault. The Firefly Family have taught us how unpredictable and chaotic death can be. The first time I saw this movie the death of Sid Haig was heavy on my mind. And I did understand why his role wasn't as big. But I really wasn't feelin' it. Not that I expected to like, be in love with the movie. I feel like I've outgrown this kind of horror. Also, I thought the ending of The Devil's Rejects wasn't particularly open. Maybe I'm a snob now idk. Something that I didn't like is that the billing and the synopsis is misleading in a bad way.
If I had a hand in this movie, I would have had it be more or less of a highlight reel of the family's crimes while on trial. The we could see the violence and gore we love without bringing a bunch of new people into it. And then have the ending not say if they were guilty or not. Like obviously they are guilty, but some people could be swayed by the f-a-c-t-that they are all clearly missing a few screws. Or even the f-a-c-t that they had disadvantages in life that made them more likely to commit crimes. Like, if I was on the jury I'd be like GO TO JAIL, DIRECTLY TO JAIL, but I could see some simp thinking they need to be in a mental hospital.
 As a fan of the franchise I did want to finish out the series. For closure. And that's why I recommend the movie even though I didn't really like it. Even though I'm kind of #overit, we need to put some respect on Rob Zombie's name.This is easily the weakest movie in the franchise, but I'm not taking my Captain Spaulding art off the clown wall in my home. If you want one too, you can get it here.

003. Night of the Living Dead
While this is not the first Zombie film, this is the one that started it all. George Thee G.O.A.T. really snapped and it changed how we see zombies, black people, and for me, chocolate syrup . This movie has a lot of firsts. It is the first movie that was filmed in Pittsburg. It's the first of the many Zombie films George Romero made in his lifetime. It was of the first movies added to the Library of Congress. One of the first movies, if not the first movie where the black character wasn't a dumbass. But, on the other side of the coin, it's one of the first horror movies, if not the first horror movie where the black character dies so senselessly. This is essential viewing for any horror fan. And, I do want you guys to at least give Shudder a chance...But if you still don't think it's necessary, you can watch Night of the Living Dead here. If you didn't know, it's in the public domain.
I recently re-watched this and they aren't Zombies, they're "ghouls". I simply do not vibe with that and will continue to think of them as Zombies.

004. The Love Witch
Ok, you know how I said I liked Gallo films and found them to be pretty. Well, here is another movie that invokes "pretty" colors, but is also pretty. This movie is more "technicolor" than Gallo. Honestly, if you don't love horror movies, but love fashion, I think you will still like this movie. The Love Witch pays homage to the horror movies of the 1960s while seriously questioning why both sexes are the way they are. It's definitely a feminist film, but it's not like the ~man hating~ feminism that Fox News lies about.  There are particular lines in this movie I found empowering even though Elaine (main character) is the worst kind of person. But, you know what they say, women be shoppin'.
What I got out of this film was that it's important to be in tune with the power that you have within yourself and love yourself for it. Don't like, put all your worth and power in love from other people. Oftentimes, other people are not always people that you fall in love with. And when I saw power, I don't necessarily mean witchcraft. I just think being a woman, but in particular a mother is a very special thing. And most women in the time this film took place in became wives before they were mothers. So, with that. I think it's very cool to be a wife! As of now, to physically bring life into the world, you need a woman. Some species don't even need men. Being a woman is very awesome. I don't want to say too much about my beliefs because I don't want y'all to think I am weird. I'm not comfortable going in depth about my religious and spiritual beliefs.
People are complicated. Men are not always macho and there are times women have to be the strong ones. Relationship roles are kind of controversial, but I think in any relationship you should compliment each other. In my relationship, where I am weak my husband is strong and vice versa. And I think that's why we get along well. I wouldn't want to date someone just like me. Like Elaine, I am not about to date a Pisces. I also wouldn't want to date a one dimensional person. Even though I love fairy tales, I feel like most of the Prince/Princess dynamics may have poisoned us. There is life beyond happily ever after and that's important too. No relationship is perfect all the time. I think Elaine as a person only wanted the surface level love that is ever present in media. But, that's just not how real life is. I actually have a lot of thoughts on this. As y'all know I am a ~*feminine feminist*~. What made this movie appealing to me was that Elaine was really beautiful, but the people around me were saying this was a "feminist" classic. I didn't get it then, but I do know.

005.  Halloween

Do y'all know what Hygge is? It's basically the art of cozy. You can read about it here. Around September, I start my own version of Hygge by decorating for Halloween. Obviously I love Halloween (the holiday) . So I try to incorporate as much of it as I can into a year. Also, it's around the time my regular depression gets to go on vacation and seasonal depression fills in. I'll do anything for a little bit of happiness. If that's a pumpkin scented candle and coffee, it's a scented candle and coffee. Recent events have had me feeling super down lately, so I've started my Halloween Hygge pretty early. And it's like, who cares? We should do all we can to be happy right now.
I know a lot of people are watching virus themed horror like Contagion and Resident Evil. And like, what a freakin' bummer. Idk, for me, it's too close to home right now. I'd prefer watching horror that gives me the nostalgia of a time where things didn't suck! Tre and I watch Halloween every Halloween after our kids finally sugar crash. And that's my favorite part of the holiday.