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The horror, as a genre in the art world, has always been to subvert expectations.
This is really the main goal of horror. Yeah, when we look at the genre at the surface level, being scary sounds like the main goal to prioritize. After all, what good is a horror movie if the horror content itself is unable to do its job and scare the audience? It was these expectations that motivated the studios and horror filmmakers to turn the "scary" factor to an 11 and fill their films by the edge with aggressively shot sequences that favor jumps rather than movies. slow. At the moment, it can be scary and maybe even downright terrifying, but have the expectations been subverted? Is there anything in the film that encourages a re-examination of personal prejudices, or has the film been played exactly as intended while fueling the ever-widening range of stereotypes?
By stereotypes, I do not speak only of those exclusive to the world of horror. Horror stereotypes have long been the subject of multiple satires of horror. The stereotypes of the "last girl" being a down-to-earth virgin, the black characters dying at the beginning or the beginning of the film, and the characters having to abide by certain rules of the horror movie to survive have already been commented and deconstructed, among others Yell, The cabin in the woods, get out, Revengeand countless other horror films. I'm talking about stereotypes that exist outside the world of movies. The social and racial stereotypes that reinforce the status quo that we have been raised to believe. These stereotypes often play into our fears and our prejudices of the real world, like a senseless fear of what we do not know. We naturally become skeptical about the concept of something that we do not fully understand. Therefore, horror movies exploring this area of fear can constitute an uncomfortable viewing session that makes it virtually impossible to re-view.
These variables are exactly why I find the concept of the new Blumhouse horror thriller, My, incredibly intriguing. At first sight, My is like the all-too familiar slasher movie that brings us to witness a group of unfortunate teenagers facing their demise at the hands of a crazy serial killer. This is the kind of horror movie that seems to follow the bloody tracks of Halloween, the Friday the 13thth series, and the countless slasher movies that used this well-used formula. My Excludes this formula by having the main villain represented by a good-hearted woman apparently played by an award-winning actress, Octavia Spencer. With this choice of casting alone, My has already managed to thwart expectations in a unique and disturbing way. But why?
The presence of Octavia Spencer as an actor does not scream "horror wicked" in any particular way, is it?
After all, the Oscar winner has spent a good part of her career building her reputation as a character actress since her first role in 1996. Her roles were consistent but never perceptible. L & # 39; s help in 2011, where Spencer drew the attention of the general public.
But even though his career has soared with appearances in the divergent series, Snowdrop, and two other Oscar nominated roles in Hidden figures and The shape of the waterSpencer's filmography has reinforced a trend with his interpretive style. To be specific, Spencer was (and still is with some of his recent features) confined to the role of a secondary character whose purpose is to help build the story around the main character with an impertinent attitude and a spirit bright. . These roles seem to have little by little confined to the role of friendly friend who has only the best interests of others. Even his role as co-leader in Hidden figures shares his time on screen with two other main actors (okay, that's understandable given the real story behind these NASA women). It became a point where his role in the story could easily be considered a "type" and when Spencer appears in a film, it is familiar and even comfortable to see it exactly in what is expected of it today.
My is where this stereotype seems to be flipped over his head.
Instead of playing the main character's friendly friend, Spencer assumes the role of Sue Ann, a veterinary assistant who develops an unhealthy obsession with a group of teenage girls with whom she befriends after being asked to buy them from her family. 'alcohol. The obsession becomes a blinding violence because it strongly implies that it will terrorize children and all those who are in its path. There is no monster of undead with a machete from which to run. There is no dream demon hidden in nightmares to avoid. The ultimate villain of the film is a person to whom you would not have blamed for doubting his sinister intentions. Instead of an unstoppable creature that can not be understood, Sue is a familiar person with whom it would seem fun to have a beer. The trailer shows her laughing with the kids and partying with a big smile. This makes his sinister turn unexpected and it is probably even more terrifying than a serial killer without emotion.
It is hard to accept a darker perspective of something that has already been presented in a positive light. We all had these moments to a certain extent. Something happens that completely changes, or at least partially, our mind on what we thought was the truth. Sometimes the realization is minor, sometimes it can be sad and depressing, and in the case of Myit turns out to be deadly. It's hard to understand the preconceived idea of an apparently innocuous and out of the ordinary person, like Sue, who is so upset, especially if the beloved Spencer plays this role. But as mentioned before, the horror aims to subvert the expectations and it can be too difficult to manage if it is done with the right situation.
Horror is a genre that not only has distorted expectations, but encourages a shift in thinking about the various topics covered in this genre. When The women of Stepford released in 1975, it inspired people to take the time to reflect on the lives of seemingly happy trophy women living in pleasant, quiet neighborhoods. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has placed most of its horrible content on a hot, sunny day, bringing murderous madness to the sun's natural fire. Pet Sematary and Corn children forced the public to look at young children with a slightly more skeptical eye.
Horror, above all, wants to make us uncomfortable with what we see.
Of course, any horror movie with free amounts of blood can inspire drowsiness and a possible loss of appetite, but a horror movie that actively takes something positive and turns it into something terrifying and disturbing risk of staying. MyThe popularity of social media stems from the description of Spencer's trailer and the fact that there is only of to see a typically friendly face like his splashed with blood. The blinds open to give us a glimpse of the mind of a paramedic, and what we discover is something we may not be able to understand.
It remains to be seen how much impact My will take on popular culture after the release, but the attention that the film has gained on social media proves that people are interested, if not simply curious to see what "Ma" has put in its sleeves. Brightburn just gave us a reason to fear the alien boy that we have been celebrating in comics for decades and My can give us a reason not to be so trustworthy of "cool" strangers who like to party. It is not a comforting idea to fundamentally challenge our vision of the world, but horror has never been known as a safe and stable space.
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