Hey, hey, Horror Nuts! Welcome to another edition of WTFHM!
So, of all the things I have ever wondered about, I don't think I've ever wondered as to whether or not there were black folks in the Appalachians.
That's not to say that I didn't think that there were any black folks in the Appalachians...
Okay, that's exactly what I'm saying.
I'm sorry, I realize how ignorant that sounds. Especially knowing that in 2022, yes, of course, there are black folks everywhere in the world. All I'm saying is that I'm also aware of the fact that there are spaces that...well...the surrounding population has made relatively clear we're not exactly welcome.
But, after a cursory Google search, I learned a little about the black folks in the Appalachians, and like just about every place in America, the Appalachians have always had residents of color (not just black) dating all the way back to the days of enslavement.
And with all that, came their culture...including folk magic. Speaking of folk magic, this week's movie!
Spell starring Omari Hardwick, Miss Loretta Devine, Lorraine Burroughs, Hannah Gonera, Kalifa Burton, John Beasley, and Tumisho Masha.
So, once upon a time, a lawyer named Marquis T. Woods (Hardwick) is living his rich dude life with his rich dude family when, one day, he gets a letter saying that his dad passed away.
Marquis T. Woods then decides that he needs to fly himself and his bougie family in his personal single-engine bucket back home to the Appalachians. Which is all fine and good until the plane crashes.
Sometime later, Marquis T. Woods wakes up with a busted leg with a little old lady taking care of him...in a scene that looks really familiar. I can't quite put my finger on it, though...
Anyway, he spends the rest of the movie trying to escape and along the way, finds out that little old Eloise(Devine) leads a Hoodoo cult and, apparently, is planning on chopping him up and grinding his bones to make her bread or whatever.
That's basically the movie in a nutshell. Like I can go into details, but
So, there are a few notes for this movie that have me kind of split in terms of how I want to rate this. Let's start with the good.
The Good
1. I Got Two Words For You: Loretta Motherfucking Devine
That's it. That's the tweet.
If you don't know who this actress is, I highly recommend you educate yourself immediately. There are very few actresses I've ever seen that have been able to pull off the balance between sweet as pie/evil as fuck persona as perfectly as Devine consistently does in this movie. Every second she was on screen I felt like I was a little kid worried if I was about to get a cookie or a spanking.
If there was any universal good in this whole movie, it was this woman.
2. Let's hear it for Horror Noire!
You know, in 2022, there are still people out there that are like, "Wait...there are good horror movies with all-black casts?" Yes. Yes, there is. And if you've been following this blog for any length of time, I don't have to tell you that.
And all things considered, there are some pretty great legit horror moments in this movie that are worth watching.
3. The Guy to Watch
So, as it turns out, I've seen quite a bit of Tonderai's work. He's directed episodes of Lucifer, Dr. Who, and Castle Rock. He also directed House at the End of The Street and Hush. With that resume, I wouldn't go so far as to say he's an up-and-comer, but he's definitely the guy to watch out there.
And now...
The Bad
1. Dear White Writer telling Black Stories...
So, while I was watching this, I noticed that our protag was making really out of 'character' decisions, even for a horror movie. Like, I realize that more times than not, horror movie protagonists make dumb choices instead of the right ones because, well, how else can the story happen?
I mean, yes, horror is not Shakespeare and, you know me, I rarely give bad marks for that unless it's just out of control. In this case, I started to notice that Marquis T. Woods just isn't making instinctively choices that...well...a person of color might make in his situation.
This is a hard thing to pinpoint if you don't know. It's like, you know how Jada Pinkett-Smith in Scream 2 goes on and on about how white folks in horror movies "run up the stairs instead of out the back door". It's kind of like that.
And over the years, with more black screenwriters and directors at the helm, I've noticed that black protags are making decisions and choices that are more natural, which for us black folks watching, makes the scares harder to dismiss.
(I mean, those choices probably won't save them because it is a horror movie, but still.)
The writer of this one was Kurt Wimmer, who also wrote some pretty good movies such as Equilibrium, an arguably good film. This one, though...
I don't know. Like I said, it's hard to put your finger on. All I can say is that as a writer, I've always counseled against writing about worlds you don't know, which is unfortunate because it's the only thing wrong with this movie.
Anyway, the point is a black voice was needed in the writing of this story. The director cleaned it up as best he could though, so for that:
I mean, at the end of the day, I was still entertained. I still enjoyed the horror of the movie and all things considered, this is one I would recommend for your Black History Month Watch list.
So. Next week! We're ending this month with a little Midnight Melody! See you next week!
O~
*
That's not to say that I didn't think that there were any black folks in the Appalachians...
Okay, that's exactly what I'm saying.
I'm sorry, I realize how ignorant that sounds. Especially knowing that in 2022, yes, of course, there are black folks everywhere in the world. All I'm saying is that I'm also aware of the fact that there are spaces that...well...the surrounding population has made relatively clear we're not exactly welcome.
But, after a cursory Google search, I learned a little about the black folks in the Appalachians, and like just about every place in America, the Appalachians have always had residents of color (not just black) dating all the way back to the days of enslavement.
And with all that, came their culture...including folk magic. Speaking of folk magic, this week's movie!
You know, in 2022, there are still people out there that are like, "Wait...there are good horror movies with all-black casts?" Yes. Yes, there is. And if you've been following this blog for any length of time, I don't have to tell you that.
And with all that, came their culture...including folk magic. Speaking of folk magic, this week's movie!
Spell starring Omari Hardwick, Miss Loretta Devine, Lorraine Burroughs, Hannah Gonera, Kalifa Burton, John Beasley, and Tumisho Masha.
So, once upon a time, a lawyer named Marquis T. Woods (Hardwick) is living his rich dude life with his rich dude family when, one day, he gets a letter saying that his dad passed away.
Marquis T. Woods then decides that he needs to fly himself and his bougie family in his personal single-engine bucket back home to the Appalachians. Which is all fine and good until the plane crashes.
Sometime later, Marquis T. Woods wakes up with a busted leg with a little old lady taking care of him...in a scene that looks really familiar. I can't quite put my finger on it, though...
Anyway, he spends the rest of the movie trying to escape and along the way, finds out that little old Eloise(Devine) leads a Hoodoo cult and, apparently, is planning on chopping him up and grinding his bones to make her bread or whatever.
That's basically the movie in a nutshell. Like I can go into details, but
So, there are a few notes for this movie that have me kind of split in terms of how I want to rate this. Let's start with the good.
The Good
1. I Got Two Words For You: Loretta Motherfucking Devine
That's it. That's the tweet.
If you don't know who this actress is, I highly recommend you educate yourself immediately. There are very few actresses I've ever seen that have been able to pull off the balance between sweet as pie/evil as fuck persona as perfectly as Devine consistently does in this movie. Every second she was on screen I felt like I was a little kid worried if I was about to get a cookie or a spanking.
If there was any universal good in this whole movie, it was this woman.
2. Let's hear it for Horror Noire!
And all things considered, there are some pretty great legit horror moments in this movie that are worth watching.
3. The Guy to Watch
So, as it turns out, I've seen quite a bit of Tonderai's work. He's directed episodes of Lucifer, Dr. Who, and Castle Rock. He also directed House at the End of The Street and Hush. With that resume, I wouldn't go so far as to say he's an up-and-comer, but he's definitely the guy to watch out there.
And now...
The Bad
1. Dear White Writer telling Black Stories...
So, while I was watching this, I noticed that our protag was making really out of 'character' decisions, even for a horror movie. Like, I realize that more times than not, horror movie protagonists make dumb choices instead of the right ones because, well, how else can the story happen?
I mean, yes, horror is not Shakespeare and, you know me, I rarely give bad marks for that unless it's just out of control. In this case, I started to notice that Marquis T. Woods just isn't making instinctively choices that...well...a person of color might make in his situation.
This is a hard thing to pinpoint if you don't know. It's like, you know how Jada Pinkett-Smith in Scream 2 goes on and on about how white folks in horror movies "run up the stairs instead of out the back door". It's kind of like that.
And over the years, with more black screenwriters and directors at the helm, I've noticed that black protags are making decisions and choices that are more natural, which for us black folks watching, makes the scares harder to dismiss.
(I mean, those choices probably won't save them because it is a horror movie, but still.)
The writer of this one was Kurt Wimmer, who also wrote some pretty good movies such as Equilibrium, an arguably good film. This one, though...
I don't know. Like I said, it's hard to put your finger on. All I can say is that as a writer, I've always counseled against writing about worlds you don't know, which is unfortunate because it's the only thing wrong with this movie.
Anyway, the point is a black voice was needed in the writing of this story. The director cleaned it up as best he could though, so for that:
I mean, at the end of the day, I was still entertained. I still enjoyed the horror of the movie and all things considered, this is one I would recommend for your Black History Month Watch list.
So. Next week! We're ending this month with a little Midnight Melody! See you next week!
O~
*
O~
*
No comments:
Post a Comment