I’m intrigued, too, because, while I’ve never been a big horror fan, I’m reading more and more that some of these new films are just good films. I may have to add some to my watchlist… Stephen, where do I start with the recent batch - Sinners? Obsession? Or…?
"You could say that the “twist” is that these pathetic men inadvertently create a monster, but the truth is that they were the monsters all along"
That is the dagger at the heart of almost all horror films: Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon (made even clearer in the sequels, and exquisitely so in "The Shape of Water"), etc.
I winced when I watched the latest Frankenstein because they literally have William say this to Frankenstein, just in case the subtext wasn’t clear enough 😂
I'm reminded of Bedazzled that I saw quite a while ago.
Brenden Fraser sells his soul to Elizabeth Hurley's devil for seven wishes and he proceeds to use the first six wishes selfishly to try and win over the object of his desire to disastrous effects as the devil plays evil genie and gives him what he asks for with a twist.
He's only free from the nightmare and the devil when he uses his final wish to wish the woman he's been objectifying live a happy life.
Crushes aren't love. They objectify a person into something that isn't really them. We're obsessed with the idea of the person in our heads. An idea they can never really live up to. When we objectify a person, we've taken the first step into sin. And when a person is reduced to an object without a voice, why then we justify anything.
Excellent post, SER! I've always liked the "Monkey's Paw"-type stories because they've always carried what has seemed (to me) to be relatively good advice: "be careful what you wish for." No matter what it is, the result always has the potential to be infinitely worse.
I have to agree, though, when it comes to people wishing for someone they're obsessed with to suddenly love them, it's creepy. I'm sure there have been plenty of people who have had to deal with someone like that—the would-be suitor driving past your house multiple times a day, "accidentally" bumping into you no matter where you go, going out with friends and catching a glimpse of them through the crowd, etc. (Yes, I've been in that situation.) To be coerced against your will to suddenly and mindlessly love them back makes me shudder.
Notable that in these cases the guy never wishes for a potion to change himself to become a more desirable person, or even better to be able to find attractiveness in those who could equally desire him (wait I might have just described “Shallow Hal”). One reason the guy in that Twilight Zone episode wanted out was that the potion made his target woman a different person than the one he had been attracted to—he liked her when she didn’t like him, perhaps because she didn’t like him.
I sort of get this. Indifference sends an unconscious message that “this person must have a lot going for them if they think they can do better than me” while active interest sends the message “this person thinks I’m too good for them and maybe they’re right”. Sort of like in sales if the vendor is trying to hard to sell, you might think the wares are overpriced or low quality. It’s unfortunate of course because a person not really interested in you is a bad match, and being able to see something good in you should be a good trait (“hey they have taste!”). I think of it’s a glitch in psychology.
That is weird. I've been initially attracted to men, but when it was clear that it didn't go both ways, my attraction cooled very quickly. In some cases, we ended up platonic friends. I don't understand people obsessing over someone who clearly doesn't like them in a romantic sense.
Same here. And sometimes, when someone I wasn’t all that attracted to, but liked, expressed that they liked me, then that affected me positively too.
Honestly there are some women who seem to be so competitive. If you like a guy (or girl) then they all of a sudden started flirting with them. They favorite guy was always someone else’s.
That's because most guys think that they aren't the problem, it's the woman being too stupid to like them. Good point that the guy in the Twilight Zone episode stopped liking Leila when she started liking him. Sometimes we want things simply because they are unattainable.
That’s why the “how to win over women” gurus don’t get a lot of mileage from “start paying more attention to the women you’ve been ignoring, you might discover something you missed” as advice.
Incels blame women for not liking them because the only other person who could be at fault is themselves. Introspection, and taking personal responsibility is not their strong suit.
Bit of a tangent, but I always assumed the 1983 Animotion song was inspired by the 1963 novel "The Collector" by John Fowles, which I read for a literature class in 1982. A male butterfly collector kidnaps and imprisons a female art student that he's obsessed with. Written in first person, like the song, it gives the perspectives of both the kidnapper and the captive.
A monster never believes he (or she, less often) is a monster. Lack of self awareness enables monsterhood.
I’m intrigued, too, because, while I’ve never been a big horror fan, I’m reading more and more that some of these new films are just good films. I may have to add some to my watchlist… Stephen, where do I start with the recent batch - Sinners? Obsession? Or…?
Great review! Perhaps you’d be interested to check out mine - just launched! https://storefrontsubways.substack.com/p/grotesque-words-on-obsession?r=8m36yy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
"You could say that the “twist” is that these pathetic men inadvertently create a monster, but the truth is that they were the monsters all along"
That is the dagger at the heart of almost all horror films: Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon (made even clearer in the sequels, and exquisitely so in "The Shape of Water"), etc.
I winced when I watched the latest Frankenstein because they literally have William say this to Frankenstein, just in case the subtext wasn’t clear enough 😂
One of the tropes in 'Monkey's Paw' stories is that you can't give your wish to another person which should be cause enough to reread the small print
Great song.
I'm reminded of Bedazzled that I saw quite a while ago.
Brenden Fraser sells his soul to Elizabeth Hurley's devil for seven wishes and he proceeds to use the first six wishes selfishly to try and win over the object of his desire to disastrous effects as the devil plays evil genie and gives him what he asks for with a twist.
He's only free from the nightmare and the devil when he uses his final wish to wish the woman he's been objectifying live a happy life.
Crushes aren't love. They objectify a person into something that isn't really them. We're obsessed with the idea of the person in our heads. An idea they can never really live up to. When we objectify a person, we've taken the first step into sin. And when a person is reduced to an object without a voice, why then we justify anything.
Have you ever seen the original Bedazzled???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXnoWb88Jr4&list=RDJXnoWb88Jr4&start_radio=1
Its so good...But I like the remake too
I have not. I'll have to check it out.
You will LOVE it. Peter Cook, Dudly Moore...1967
And, as I recall, Raquel Welch in her prime playing one of the 7 Deadly Sins...Lust!
YUP!
Excellent post, SER! I've always liked the "Monkey's Paw"-type stories because they've always carried what has seemed (to me) to be relatively good advice: "be careful what you wish for." No matter what it is, the result always has the potential to be infinitely worse.
I have to agree, though, when it comes to people wishing for someone they're obsessed with to suddenly love them, it's creepy. I'm sure there have been plenty of people who have had to deal with someone like that—the would-be suitor driving past your house multiple times a day, "accidentally" bumping into you no matter where you go, going out with friends and catching a glimpse of them through the crowd, etc. (Yes, I've been in that situation.) To be coerced against your will to suddenly and mindlessly love them back makes me shudder.
Notable that in these cases the guy never wishes for a potion to change himself to become a more desirable person, or even better to be able to find attractiveness in those who could equally desire him (wait I might have just described “Shallow Hal”). One reason the guy in that Twilight Zone episode wanted out was that the potion made his target woman a different person than the one he had been attracted to—he liked her when she didn’t like him, perhaps because she didn’t like him.
So true. I’ve known women who seem to be intensely attracted to someone that is indifferent to them. To me it’s pretty weird.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1pW7T7MbZQ&list=RDc1pW7T7MbZQ&start_radio=1
watch the whole clip for the gag
I sort of get this. Indifference sends an unconscious message that “this person must have a lot going for them if they think they can do better than me” while active interest sends the message “this person thinks I’m too good for them and maybe they’re right”. Sort of like in sales if the vendor is trying to hard to sell, you might think the wares are overpriced or low quality. It’s unfortunate of course because a person not really interested in you is a bad match, and being able to see something good in you should be a good trait (“hey they have taste!”). I think of it’s a glitch in psychology.
That is weird. I've been initially attracted to men, but when it was clear that it didn't go both ways, my attraction cooled very quickly. In some cases, we ended up platonic friends. I don't understand people obsessing over someone who clearly doesn't like them in a romantic sense.
Same here. And sometimes, when someone I wasn’t all that attracted to, but liked, expressed that they liked me, then that affected me positively too.
Honestly there are some women who seem to be so competitive. If you like a guy (or girl) then they all of a sudden started flirting with them. They favorite guy was always someone else’s.
That's because most guys think that they aren't the problem, it's the woman being too stupid to like them. Good point that the guy in the Twilight Zone episode stopped liking Leila when she started liking him. Sometimes we want things simply because they are unattainable.
That’s why the “how to win over women” gurus don’t get a lot of mileage from “start paying more attention to the women you’ve been ignoring, you might discover something you missed” as advice.
Incels blame women for not liking them because the only other person who could be at fault is themselves. Introspection, and taking personal responsibility is not their strong suit.
Bit of a tangent, but I always assumed the 1983 Animotion song was inspired by the 1963 novel "The Collector" by John Fowles, which I read for a literature class in 1982. A male butterfly collector kidnaps and imprisons a female art student that he's obsessed with. Written in first person, like the song, it gives the perspectives of both the kidnapper and the captive.