I annoy my family with my awful Brit accent and, especially, a phrase meaning “dammit” or “carajo!”
I drop the “H” and shout in a musty, late 19th century, Sir Topham Hatt voice: “Oh, Bloody ‘ell!!!”
Lately, it’s a phrase that applies to a spate of horror movies that revel, wallow, slip and slide in blood and gore. Well-done gore, state-of-the-art gore, but gore nonetheless.
Bloody ‘ell!!!
And I have to ask myself: “Self, why all the blood and gore at this moment in time?”
In the Great Depression, escapist films were the order of the day. Calgon, take me away!
Film noir was a popular motif as we licked the psychic wounds of WWII’s ravages.
Pictures that skewered the establishment splashed through the 60s and into the 70s.
I’m sure you cinemaphiles have many more examples of film motifs that match the cultural zeitgeist of their era.
These days, there is a raft of well-regarded body-horror pictures now available, with more to follow.
I’m looking at you, “The Substance” (Best Screenplay – Palme D’Or/Cannes; Best Picture Nominee, Golden Globes), “Nosferatu”, “Wolfman”, “Presence”.
Here’s one theory: At this writing, we collectively fear what’s coming once January 20th happens. We tentatively push the door open to our incoming administration and cringe. What horrors await?
Will we be trapped inside a haunted house (“Presence”, out later this month). How much can we truly trust our closest contacts to act in our best interest (“Wolfman”, out later this month). We fear the blood-sucking body snatchers capable of draining us of our will (“Nosferatu”). Of our very lives.
And, all the while, we obsess over bodily perfection and youth/vigor worship (lose weight with diabetes meds, just shoot up every now and then), even as our population ages out (“The Substance”). Who hasn’t dreamt of a better version of oneself?
In the world of high finance, it was once thought that stock futures could be predicted by activity at lower Manhattan hot dog stands. More sales, higher stock prices. Another measure: the correlation between the popularity of auto colors and economic mood. When times are good, bold colors make a comeback. When fear is in the air, consumers pick safer, neutral shades.
Oh, bloody ‘ell!!! Everything’s really OK? Isn’t it?
Maybe yes. Maybe no. What do YOU think? Post your analysis below.