[Ed. - This short post may give away both twists and the ending of The Disappearance of Alice Creed. You've been warned.]
The Disappearance of Alice Creed is a great movie. But I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much 10 years ago.
The first 30 minutes are as hard to watch as anything you'll see in, say, Wolf Creek. But just a few years ago, I could have shrugged my way through them, confident that Alice would, in fact, escape and get to go home eventually.
Not anymore.
I'm not really a big fan of modern horror. There are too many hateful movies out there, movies that detest themselves and their audiences. But by destroying our expectation of a happy ending, Roth and his ilk have added an extra layer of suspense to every new thriller. The fact is, until Creed's credits rolled, I had no idea which of its three characters would live or die. And the ultimately satisfying and thought-provoking ending wouldn't have been a shock at all.
Showing posts with label HOSTEL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HOSTEL. Show all posts
Monday, January 17, 2011
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Why is Paranormal Activity rated R?
[Ed. - This post has been given an R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America.]
I'm awfully fond of the film Paranormal Activity. I have a friend who asked me if it's gory. I responded, "Nope. In fact with the exception of the last minute, if I showed you every frame in random order without sound, you wouldn't even know it's a horror movie."
Later on, I thought about what I'd said. And I started to wonder why Paranormal Activity is even rated R. Compared to the big-bang scary movies of the past few years, it seems positively tame. The answer, according to the MPAA and IMDB? Language.
Fucking what?
When actors are asked to improv scenes, they tend to swear a lot. For that, Paranormal Activity received a harsher rating than PG-13 films like Disturbia, Cloverfield, Cry Wolf, Cursed and The Ring. And I'm not even going to begin to remind you in detail just how gross the PG-rated Poltergeist was.
Even more criminal, Paranormal Activity shares its rating with movies like House of 1,000 Corpses and Hostel. "Sweetie, what do you want to see tonight, Paranormal Activity or Saw VI?" "I don't know, dear. They're both rated R."
I'm not claiming that Paranormal Activity is appropriate for kids. I'm just dumbfounded by the hypocrisy of a system that would rather see people butchered than hear them swear.
I'm awfully fond of the film Paranormal Activity. I have a friend who asked me if it's gory. I responded, "Nope. In fact with the exception of the last minute, if I showed you every frame in random order without sound, you wouldn't even know it's a horror movie."
Later on, I thought about what I'd said. And I started to wonder why Paranormal Activity is even rated R. Compared to the big-bang scary movies of the past few years, it seems positively tame. The answer, according to the MPAA and IMDB? Language.
Fucking what?
When actors are asked to improv scenes, they tend to swear a lot. For that, Paranormal Activity received a harsher rating than PG-13 films like Disturbia, Cloverfield, Cry Wolf, Cursed and The Ring. And I'm not even going to begin to remind you in detail just how gross the PG-rated Poltergeist was.
Even more criminal, Paranormal Activity shares its rating with movies like House of 1,000 Corpses and Hostel. "Sweetie, what do you want to see tonight, Paranormal Activity or Saw VI?" "I don't know, dear. They're both rated R."
I'm not claiming that Paranormal Activity is appropriate for kids. I'm just dumbfounded by the hypocrisy of a system that would rather see people butchered than hear them swear.
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