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Reviews
Bodom (2016)
Pleasantly surprising modern slasher
Lake Bodom has been described by some critics as the first Finnish horror movie to be up to international standards. I'm not familiar with Finnish horror cinema, so I can't comment on how ground breaking it is, but it was certainly up to my standards.
Lake Bodom is inspired by a real-life unsolved murder, and being a true crime fan gives you a delicious tidbit of extra context that adds to the suspense of the plot. That being said, I'm confident that an audience member unfamiliar withthe crimes would have no problem engaging with the film on its own terms.
In many ways, it feels like a cross between a Friday the 13th and a film of the New French Extremity --Friday's setting and whodunnit aspect of its first act, and the gore, brief torture, and lesbianism common in New French Extremity. It is essentially three films: first, a camping slasher, then a queer revenge film, and finally, a fight for survival in a torture film.
Seriously though, I was clocking one of the characters as gay from her first scene and wowie was my homosexual heart jumpingfor joy when this was confirmed. A re-watch is required for me to fully digest my feelings on its representation of queerness, because though not explicitly, it does seem to punish the queer character. Then again, no one makes it out of this one in very good shape.
Check it out for sure!
The Siren (2019)
Even worse than bad: deeply boring
The Siren had so much potential. If it was a first-time student film, I might give it a pass. The set-up of the two male leads provides a great opportunity to develop a nuanced, complicated relationship, which the film chooses to gloss over. Choosing to make one character openly gay and the other a strict Christian and having them form a friendship means something in the world we live in, but in the world of this film, it only serves as set dressing to give the illusion of well-roundedness. The same goes with the lead's muteness. I think casual representation is something we should all strive for in the stories we tell and consume, but if you're going to make something a central element of your narrative, why not explore it in a deeper, emotional and thematic way? Margaret Ying Drake delivers a competent performance, but the script, costuming, and effects give any reality she might breathe into Nina a lot to fight against.
The use of music in the film is.... complicated. I see from some promotional material that it seems like at times this film has been marketed as The Rusalka, which honestly makes more sense from a mythological standpoint than a siren. The roots of Nina's character as a creature from Slavic mythology makes the use of music make more sense (mostly a capella vocals of folk songs). There was a moment when I recognized a song that was being used in the film, but once the excitement that I might be cultured of clever wore off, I realized that the meaning, the actual words, of the song, had nothing to do with its place in the film, and I realized that this honestly bold choice for a soundtrack was literally only there to create a spooky atmosphere by appealing to its "otherness" to an English-speaking audience.
All in all, The Siren feels half-baked, and worse of all, just boring. If only it was even more poorly made it might've fallen into a so-bad-its-good territory, but, alas.
Becky (2020)
A fun thrill-ride for what it is
Becky is not an incredibly deep film. That's not to say it doesn't have themes, which it does, and which it explores well. And that's not to say it's not enjoyable, because it certainly is.
Becky is a cathartic revenge fantasy, which, a few questionable line readings aside, is adequately performed and well-paced. The central macguffin felt a bit weak for me, and I feel complicated about a literal white Becky playing saviour to a captive black parent/child pair given the current time, so I'll be curious to revisit this in the future to see how it ages. Lulu Wilson is, as I'm sure is redundant to say by now, one of the most competent talents working today.