My daughter and I watched Immaculate a few weeks ago. During the last 30 minutes my husband joined us. After the last scene he remarked "What in the hell was that?" - and we laughed. We told him it was glorious and to get the hell out of the family room if he didn't think so. And then we all laughed.
Slashers are as much about masochism as sadism. The appeal is pretty much the same as most revenge narratives; you see weak people getting tormented, tortured, pursued—which is disturbing—and then those people turn the tables and triumph. The dynamic isn't that much different than action movies, though it's smarter about the way that women in particular are targets, so has become a fandom for feminist empowerment over the years.
Now you have me thinking about our favorite movies ending with the demise of the bad guy[s] when justice is done -- a version of revenge I think.
Going way back to The Sting, My Cousin Vinny, Oceans Eleven (okay heist movies do this with a Robin Hood angle.)
But they end with the villain being exposed, losing excessive wealth, or going to jail. If they were also 'slashed', the movie would raise the question of why the good guyz -- and we the viewers who have identified with them -- descended into sadism, downgrading the terms of our investment in them.
No need to keep going, but I always value your thoughts and appreciate getting to articulate these questions even for introspection.
My daughter and I watched Immaculate a few weeks ago. During the last 30 minutes my husband joined us. After the last scene he remarked "What in the hell was that?" - and we laughed. We told him it was glorious and to get the hell out of the family room if he didn't think so. And then we all laughed.
As for those right wingers, watch them if Sweeney joins Taylor and comes out for Harris…
“as satisfying as the best slashers.”
Driving me to ask what is satisfying about viewing sadism?
Thanks for this review about an interesting movie with an interesting lead.
Slashers are as much about masochism as sadism. The appeal is pretty much the same as most revenge narratives; you see weak people getting tormented, tortured, pursued—which is disturbing—and then those people turn the tables and triumph. The dynamic isn't that much different than action movies, though it's smarter about the way that women in particular are targets, so has become a fandom for feminist empowerment over the years.
Now you have me thinking about our favorite movies ending with the demise of the bad guy[s] when justice is done -- a version of revenge I think.
Going way back to The Sting, My Cousin Vinny, Oceans Eleven (okay heist movies do this with a Robin Hood angle.)
But they end with the villain being exposed, losing excessive wealth, or going to jail. If they were also 'slashed', the movie would raise the question of why the good guyz -- and we the viewers who have identified with them -- descended into sadism, downgrading the terms of our investment in them.
No need to keep going, but I always value your thoughts and appreciate getting to articulate these questions even for introspection.
I mean, bad guys get killed pretty frequently at the end of action movies, from Die Hard to Avengers: End Game…
Carol Clover’s Men, Women, and Chainsaws is a great discussion of the pleasures of slashers (and other horror films.)