Ha... Before I start, it’s weird how they call him Fred. Freddy sounds more menacing...
Now, this is probably the best and worst movie I have ever seen. It's not a bad movie, but it's a baaaaad movie, you know? Like, I'll talk about it, enjoy it, and I might even watch it again, but I will tell you how bad it is. I guess you could just say it's Michael Jackson bad. The part in the movie that stuck out to me most was the special effects. Today, we're spoiled with so many computer effects, it's like the actor barely has to do anything but read their lines, and any action is a 3D model that some guy made on his iMac.
In this day and age, they relied mostly on slight of the eye style camera tricks. The 2 moments that were highly evident to out spoiled eyes all involved the mother too. When she is plagued by Freddy in the end, she gets sucked into the bed, and it’s so evident that it’s a dummy body. It’s not like when Johnny Depp’s character got sucked into the bed. He actually got sucked in. I really wonder if that TV that went right after hurt him. The other part that was weird was when Freddy reached through the door and grabbed her. It was another dummy. I mean, c’mon…
When looking at the reading, Carol Clover looks beyond the effects and begins to break down what many do not see in the characters. She talks about hos certain characters are set up, and how their acts cause their deaths. Let’s look at Tina. She’s not the best person when it comes down to it, and 15 minutes into the movie, she’s already having pre-marital sex with Rod. A huuuuuge movie no-no. And what does it lead to? DEATH! Lots of blood, and lots of DEATH! *cough*
First, I love your use of gifs. They are sometimes so much more effective than still images... and I completely agree: it's a bad movie, but we'll watch it again and say how bad it is. Much like Killer Klowns from Outer Space (and if you haven't seen that movie, please do. It's the best worst movie I've ever seen!)
ReplyDeleteI like that you connect Clover's reading in the way you do. That characters are set up for their ultimate demise. Nice post!
I like your gifts too. They're an interesting way to look at useful details. It might be useful to consider that the low production values of slasher movies aren't a product of the times. As you know, 80s movies can look quite sophisticated. There's nothing cheap about Blade Runner or Breakfast Club. Rather, it's an artifact of B-movies. They're low budget, but also very much worth watching because they tell the kinds of stories that aren't allowed in A-list Hollywood family pictures, still largely informed by Hays Code moralism. Do you think that the especially cheap look of the mom getting sucked through the door might have to do with the fact that she's sort of a hazy figure in the first place? Remember that most of the horror action takes place in a dream world, and also that it's ultimately her mother's actions that created Freddy, and make Nancy miserable, both in the dream world, stalked by the monster her mother made, but also in the waking world, because her mother's a drunk for whom love means veering between neglect and imprisonment.
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