End of the 40s in Horror
So, Sin and I finished out the 1940s in horror. I will say...there weren't many films in comparison to the first 2/3 of the decade. My guess is war stuff made film less popular, especially horror? That's my hypothesis? Please inform if there's more nuance to that!
But here are the films we watched and what we thought of them.
1946
Bedlam: Another RKO production, but with Boris Karloff. Probably one of our favorite Karloff films, it was nice seeing the asylum get some love as a horror trope for the first time since Unheimlich Geschichten and Page of Madness. It was genuinely dark at points, but it had some nice political messages in it. Not too shabby.
The Beast with Five Fingers: Another hand film. First one since Hand of Orlac, and I would say this was a bit better, too. But I'm not sure I would say it's actually worth a watch if you're looking for something interesting. Very Scooby Doo in nature.
1947
Fireworks: This was a gay experimental film. Very very short. I'd say it's worth the watch considering it's so short. But don't expect to make much sense of it. Wikipedia didn't help me understand it either honestly.
1948
The Monkey's Paw: This is a popularly re-told story, so I had fairly high expectations. But it was so dull. It became one of the very few 40s films that I couldn't finish. It was just too dull for me. Sin wasn't interested either.
Rope: I know this Hitchcock film is more of a suspense or thriller, but it was recommended on a lot of horror lists, especially queer ones, and I see why. It had a lot of homoerotic tension in it, and it was very, very anxious. We both enjoyed watching to see what craziness happened. Plus, it was in technicolor. It has a lot of loooong continuous shots, and that made it interesting, too.
So for our favorites!
My favorite was a tie between Rope and Bedlam. They both captured a lot of anxiety and only a tangential love of "creepiness," rather instead wanting to focus on the horrors of "madness." Both make interesting commentaries on disability and the body, and they make good studies.
As for Sin..."Rope and Bedlam. I guess Fireworks too. But that's just fifteen minutes. Yeah, I'd throw it in there. It's the first honest gay film we've seen. All the others have had gay undertones, but this is the first that went, 'I am gay goddammit, I like dick!' Don't type any of what I just said."
Comment question of the day: what's your favorite short horror film?
But here are the films we watched and what we thought of them.
1946
Bedlam: Another RKO production, but with Boris Karloff. Probably one of our favorite Karloff films, it was nice seeing the asylum get some love as a horror trope for the first time since Unheimlich Geschichten and Page of Madness. It was genuinely dark at points, but it had some nice political messages in it. Not too shabby.
The Beast with Five Fingers: Another hand film. First one since Hand of Orlac, and I would say this was a bit better, too. But I'm not sure I would say it's actually worth a watch if you're looking for something interesting. Very Scooby Doo in nature.
1947
Fireworks: This was a gay experimental film. Very very short. I'd say it's worth the watch considering it's so short. But don't expect to make much sense of it. Wikipedia didn't help me understand it either honestly.
1948
The Monkey's Paw: This is a popularly re-told story, so I had fairly high expectations. But it was so dull. It became one of the very few 40s films that I couldn't finish. It was just too dull for me. Sin wasn't interested either.
Rope: I know this Hitchcock film is more of a suspense or thriller, but it was recommended on a lot of horror lists, especially queer ones, and I see why. It had a lot of homoerotic tension in it, and it was very, very anxious. We both enjoyed watching to see what craziness happened. Plus, it was in technicolor. It has a lot of loooong continuous shots, and that made it interesting, too.
So for our favorites!
My favorite was a tie between Rope and Bedlam. They both captured a lot of anxiety and only a tangential love of "creepiness," rather instead wanting to focus on the horrors of "madness." Both make interesting commentaries on disability and the body, and they make good studies.
As for Sin..."Rope and Bedlam. I guess Fireworks too. But that's just fifteen minutes. Yeah, I'd throw it in there. It's the first honest gay film we've seen. All the others have had gay undertones, but this is the first that went, 'I am gay goddammit, I like dick!' Don't type any of what I just said."
Comment question of the day: what's your favorite short horror film?
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