Horror is Overdue

[horrorisoverdue]

The Lake

The short story ‘The Lake’ follows a young woman named Abbie LeFleur, who moves to a new city for a fresh start and receives more than she bargained for. LeFleur moves into a grand home in the city of Graceville, Florida complete with a sprawling backyard and private Lake. She mentions the town’s secluded behavior, not unwelcoming but certainly wary of outsiders. No good Horror story is complete without a town hiding secrets, and though she doesn’t know outright Abbie is sure that this town has its share of skeletons in the closet. Abbie’s move has her feeling bold and willing to try new experiences, which encourages her first dip into the Lake in her backyard. Although she usually avoids swimming, she notes that she feels oddly drawn to the water. Only after she begins her new job as a high school English teacher does she learn that one shouldn’t swim in Graceville lakes during the summer. This expression begins to explain all of the… odd changes she has begun noticing in her body.

Immediately after reading I classified this short story as ‘body horror’, a subgenre of Horror that describes a film or book that features the graphic mutilation or degeneration of the human body.The moments of “transition” where Abbie notices thick webbing between her toes, stretched feet, and a burning rash signifying the development of gills  felt even more eerie contrasted with Abbie’s full acceptance of it. She never panicked, rather treated the occurrence as to be expected. Body horror is typically less popular with audiences, me included, due to the gory descriptions and graphic imagery that is standard and is often found hard to stomach. However, the imagery in this story was meant to provoke a larger theme than just body degeneration. Abbie’s dreams of the lake, the pull she felt toward it, feels like it was a larger signifier. Feelings of homecoming, a shedding of the former self were coalesced into Abbie’s journey. When we are introduced to the character we know little of her old life, but she mentions old relationships that have already become strained and a desire for newfound freedom. Even in her final actions, eating the two boys who had been helping with repairs around her house, Abbie felt no need to reject her new hunger. My favorite women-led horror stories are the ones where women are allowed to indulge, to be evil and commit atrocities with abandon. It feels more exciting in contrast to the social standards women are usually placed under, and Abbie commits to that. All in all, this has been my favorite telling of my least favorite subgenre of Horror. 

[horrorisoverdue]

Eve's Bayou

As someone fairly unfamiliar with Black magic and most spiritual practices, Eve’s Bayou was a beautiful introduction to the world it contains. Eve’s Bayou follows a young girl, Eve Batiste, during the Louisiana summer where she comes of age. It begins when she finds her father cheating on her mother in their outhouse after a party, and ends with the death of her father following a myriad of scandals. From the outside looking in, the Batiste family is picture perfect, A loving marriage with a Husband who is a doctor and a mother who could be a model, three beautiful, well mannered children, and an active social life with a trusted community. After Eve is exposed to her father’s infidelities, however, the image begins to fall apart. Her family becomes marred by jealousy, everyone vying for the affection of their father/husband, who becomes unavailable as he sinks further into his infidelity. Throughout this summer, Eve and her family rely heavily on their spiritualism, looking for it to guide, protect, and save them from the significant life shift that they are unknowingly preparing for.

Eve’s aunt runs a small scam, reading clients fortunes and essentially telling them what they want to hear. However there are real magical abilities that she possesses, allowing her to see small, out of context snippets of the future. No one in Eve’s family or community questions the legitimacy of magical abilities, as seemingly everyone has been on the receiving end of a miracle or  apparition that they cannot logically explain. In real life, I have always believed that true belief of its presence has played a large part in the ability to tap into this spiritualism. The characters put so much emotion into their spirit, anytime they are nervous, happy, curious, or angry, each character has had their private moment with its entity, Eve has all of the happiness and joy of a young well adjusted little girl her age, but even she has turned to her spirit for help when she is most unsure. The stress of her Father’s reported sexual abuse against her older sister gives her her first vision, in which she sees the night that her sister described. Rather than her father assaulting her sister as she believed, it shows her sister leaning into her dad for affection, before things turn sour. Having the vision when she did, should have seemingly uprooted her family further, but instead it allowed her sister to be completely honest with her for the first time in a while. Her sister, who all this time needed someone to talk to, appears calm for the first time after her confession. Eve is calm as well, for the first time not regretting her actions, and the pair finally seem to trust each other as they had in the beginning. As her family processes and moves past the death of Eve’s father, their dynamic begins to fall back into place, and they all begin looking towards a new future. This film portrays spiritualism with respect, as the silent main character on a young girl's journey into teenhood, providing answers, wisdom, protection, and most importantly peace.

[horrorisoverdue]

The Keeper

The Keeper is a story that follows a young girl named Aisha, who suffers a tragic loss when her parents are both killed in a car accident. She must stay with her last living relative, her sick and ailed grandmother, who lives in a rundown apartment building in a poorer neighborhood. Her new life is an adjustment, as Aisha is still reeling from grief but seemingly afraid to mourn publicly. Aisha grapples back and forth with her own loss, the prospect of losing her grandmother as her health begins failing, and a change of environment as she integrates into a new school in the middle of the term.

The keeper is a soulless entity, similar to a parasite, that Aisha’s grandmother summons when her health rapidly deteriorates and she looks unable to make it through the night. Rather than leave Aisha alone, at the danger of CPS and the foster care system, she allows the Keeper to invade her body to remain alive and keep Aisha safe. Her grandmother’s actions set into motion a series of events that teach Ayesha about loss, sacrifice and redemption. Though the audience initially trusts the Keeper, it becomes apparent that its protection is a double edged sword. It has no conscience, or ability to tell right from wrong, and is unable to discern true threats over false ones. Inevitably the Keeper puts Aisha in more danger through its actions than anything else. In Aisha’s search to find the truth about the Keeper, she learns of other instances that it has been summoned, always in a last ditch effort to provide protection for a loved one. Although one could say The Keeper is a being that is tied to love, as the summoner must make the selfless sacrifice of allowing it to take over its body to ensure protection, in itself it can never be trusted. It finds its victims in the most bleak of circumstances. I connect Aisha and the Keeper as they both struggle to exist on isolated paths. It is the only presence in Aisha’s life that has any ability to care for her, even in its own twisted way. I feel that Aisha sees herself in the Keeper, explaining her mournful goodbye when she has to burn it down to save her grandmother's soul. Surviving this ordeal, and being able to be the hero for her grandmother in the way her grandmother was her savior by taking her in, gave Aisha a new self-confidence that she can survive the things she has been through. The Keeper always keeps grief and loss at the forefront of the character struggles, but I believe that by the time you reach the end of the novel, you can also look back and see the slivers of Hope presented that feel clearer once the story has wrapped.

[horrorisoverdue]

Parallels of Candyman

Candyman follows a grad student creating a dissertation on the urban legend of ‘Candyman’, a murderer based in a run down New York apartment building called “Cabrini Green” who appears out of thin air and guts anyone who says his name five times into a mirror. Although not as commercially successful, any fan of Horror has likely seen this cult classic. What I found particularly intriguing about Candyman's behavior.. Helen’s encounters with Candyman were unique, in that unlike his other victims he takes care to ruin her reputation that lead up to his ultimate act: burning Helen along with himself to keep the pair immortally intertwined. I find it interesting how the effects of a damaged reputation can parallel the murder of an individual. Ruining Helen’s credibility ensured no one would entertain her encounters with Candymam, while also creating severe psychological strain as she watches her life fall apart. In comparison, Candyman 2 lacks the urgency and stakes that are exhibited in the first film. The Candyman remake centers on an artist named Anthony, who is struggling to create his next hit following his first critically successful exhibition. He hears of the legend of Candyman, speaking it into a mirror and setting off a chain of events that lead to the death of those in his outer circle. The remake's take on a “big twist” is commendable, with the plot revealing Anthony is the child who Helen saves from the Candyman at the end of the first film. However, much is left unsaid that creates difficulty when trying to fully invest in the story. Anthony’s eventual descent into Candyman differs from Helen’s, primarily due to a lack of motive. Helen herself becomes a vengeful spirit after dying in the aforementioned fire that kills the original Candyman. Her rage is understandable, she’s lost close friends, her fiancé, her career, reputation and life. Anthony’s descent into Candyman seems to evolve from his obsession with ‘being great’, grasping at straws for an exhibit with a message that will connect with the masses. His use of the Candyman murders as a way to shock and compel audiences without regard for the victims real life traumas may be meant to represent an immortal retribution, hence his dissent into becoming the murderous figure. However, his villainous arc is a bit too scattered, and there is no consistent theme that ties the entire story together in a satisfactory way.

In relation to Black Horror, despite the obvious disparities between the two films in regards to minority representation, I consider the first film to fall more securely in the genre of Black Horror than the second. The major pitfalls I consider the Candyman remake to possess are a lack of themes/ direction that the original possess. Tony Todd’s portrayal of the Candyman killer is considered a staple within the horror genre. The complexity of his character, being an apparition summoned through a chant of his name (“candyman, candyman, candyman”), and the racial violence that led to his gruesome death and after wordly hatred mirror themes of spiritualism and racial tension often connected to other Black Horror films. The Candyman remake lacked direction, and fell flat in terms of horror. Aside from the gruesomeness of the main character’s eventual transition into Candyman, Candyman’s killings were lackluster. We have no understanding of why this version’s Candyman carries out these killings, and thus the audience has no real reason to fear his presence. I feel that while it is a great set-up for future delvement into its character, without the success of its predecessor this film would be a total flop.

[horrorisoverdue]

Son of Ingagi

Son of Ingagi is almost like the introduction point of Black Horror in the U.S. It was one of the first films to portray its Black characters in a fair and respectable light, representing Black culture devoid of the usual caricatures and stereotypes it was represented with. It allowed Black women lead roles that were complex and essential to the overall narrative, and was not a film based in or off of slavery. It opens to a newlywed couple, happy from their recent nuptials and excited to have a break alone from their friends and family while they celebrate personally. They trick their friends and family into believing they are headed to Niagara Falls for their Honeymoon, when in actuality they are going back to their home to be alone. In no time they are found out by their friends, who came to check on the house, and everyone decides to keep the party going. One of their wedding guests, Dr. Jackson, happens upon the party as she is walking home, and comes in to chat. 

Dr. Jackson is an important character in the film. She’s well established, a doctor who works on research, studying viruses and attempting to create cures. She is a respected member of the community, wealthy, with a good home and excellent career. This representation, especially for a Black woman, was extremely rare at the time of Son of Ingagi’s release. Her work drives her, and we find that she’s taken an unorthodox approach to further her research in cures. We are introduced to Ingagi, a man-like Ape/Monster that she smuggled back from a recent trip to Africa. Dr. Jackson believes his DNA holds the key to all of mankind's diseases and works tirelessly to find the link. Dr. Jackson and Ingagi have the classic “evil scientist/evil creature” although neither of them are actually “evil”. Dr. Jackson ends up being killed at the hands of Ingagi after he ingests a medicine that causes him to become fitful and enraged, however the audience understands that this is not a reflection of his behavior, and more a tragic accident. 

Ingagi is a character similar to other “monstrosities” we’ve seen in other horror lore. He can be compared to the likes of Frankenstein or Godzilla, differing only in the fact that it is never explicitly mentioned that Ingagi is the result of a lab experiment. Throughout the film Ingagi goes on to kill several more characters, but they are generally all adversaries of Dr. Jackson, or otherwise individuals who had no business lurking in her house anyways. The young newlywed couple moved into her home after finding that she left the home to them in her will. No one is aware of Ingagi’s presence in the home, and this leads to confusion as he enters and exits the house from his lair, leaving traces that the couple cannot explain. After coming out one final time and scaring the wife, the lair he lives in is discovered and the house is burned down with him inside, sadly with the couple and others believing Ingagi to be a vengeful monster. 

Son of Ingagi remains a staple in the Black Horror genre for its impressive use of an all Black cast and different take on previous famous Horror monsters like Frankenstein and Godzilla. In keeping with the theme of presenting Black culture in a positive light, there is no inherently evil characterization of any of the characters, which I believe adds to the reliability of the film and contributes to its continued appreciation as Black Horror continues to expand.

[horrorisoverdue]

Jordan Peele & Get Out

Get Out is the perfect film to spearhead the discussion of Black Horror and what it entails. It is arguably the most critically successful and mainstream film within its genre, excelling at engaging audiences of all backgrounds and preferences. It is a horror film, but it is also thrilling, enlightening, with perfectly placed humor that doesn’t draw away from its serious aspects. With the release of Get Out, Black Horror was introduced on a broad scale, no longer a sub-genre primarily dependent on engagement from other Black creatives. Get Out directly addresses racial tensions in an inoffensive, but candid way. First in it’s addressing of stereotypes experienced on both sides of an interracial couple, and then with the still prevalant issues of how Black individuals are viewed in racist spaces- revered for their talents but not their humanity. 

Get Out took many risks. First, in having a film with no redeeming white characters. All of them were deplorable in their actions, and showed no remorse or regret for how they have ruined others lives. Second, the choice to have an interracial couple where the White female is the villian, a trope not typically seen for White women in media. Third, the seriousness of the film. Despite its comical moments, it always remains a story of a Black man who is unfairly victimized due to his race, and how quickly his journey could have turned left is kept in mind as we see the other victims who could not fend off the parasitic family. Interracial relationships are typically addressed in a “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” style, where race is the elephant in the room. This is typically the most comfortable trope when it comes to addressing mixed couples, and Peele made sure that race was always the focus of the story.

For once, Chris’ racial plights could be felt by all viewers, and Peele wrote a character that is easy to sympathize with. Seeing his pain be felt so clearly by viewers felt like a mini renaissance in its own right, a breakthrough for Black audiences who have likely felt that plight on their own, with little support. Much less expected was such a groundbreaking film coming from the likes of Jordan Peele, known only for his comedic abilities before its release. It is hard to imagine Peele now as a regular comedian, as his works have propelled him to an overnight stardom, being helmed a film genius. Get Out is a film I can watch many times, and still feel the way I felt the first time I watched it. His newest films have remained critical successes, and the magic he creates on screen will continue to move the Black Horror genre forward for years to come.