#horrorhellion

[sirendeathcult]

Ballet in Horror Pt. II: Mirrors, reflections, and doppelgängers

Possession (1981) | Us (2019) | Black Swan (2010) | Perfect Blue (1997) | Suspiria (1977) | The Red Shoes (1948)

Repression, obsession, perfection, abuse, self & identity, gender...

One of the most underrated elements of POSSESSION (1981) is how the use of ballet in the film actually relates to its many themes— which are themes that can be traced across other films that depict ballerinas (or other types of performers in the case of Perfect Blue—it just fit too well to not include)

Read my article Blood-stained Satin: A Reflection on the Aesthetics of Ballet in Horror on Beauty of Horror

[sirendeathcult]

MEN // Hereditary // The Neon Demon

[sirendeathcult]

The Dinner Table Part II

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) // House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Midsommar (2019) // Salò (1975) |

The Witch (2015) // You’re Next (2011)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) // The Platform (2019)

[sirendeathcult]

Pearl (2022) // Mandy (2018) // Jennifer’s Body (2009)

POV: you just asked me how I’m doing

[sirendeathcult]

Staircases in Horror Pt. II

Possession (1981) | American Psycho (2000) | The Spiral Staircase (1946) | The Lighthouse (2019)

The disorienting descent down a spiral staircase is also much like the descent into madness--into the psyche's of characters like Patrick Bateman, Winslow, or Anna who all represent struggles with identity, their masculinity or femininity, and the construction / deconstruction / reconstruction of self

[sirendeathcult]

RIVER’S EDGE (1986) // TWIN PEAKS (1990-1991)

[sirendeathcult]

Anna | Carrie | Thana

[sirendeathcult]

The Dinner Table Part I

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) // The Loved Ones (2009) // Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) // Get Out (2017) // Hereditary (2018)

Some of the most tense moments in horror (and in life) take place at the dinner table—subverting the symbol of family, community, hospitality, ritual and celebration.