Stuck in Repeat
It’s no secret that the resurgence of gothic and medieval horror have clandestinely bestowed upon our contemporary culture. There’s always something off, and vividly unsettling to go through the dreadful exorcisms, suspenseful jump scares of creepy nuns, or even the haunting of spirits and ghosts– even if it’s the result of the same, exact recycled copy of the one before it. Possibly the biggest imaginable mission for Hollywood producers is to create a follow up of an original story that wouldn’t disappoint folks, boost revenue and actors, and move on. Even if the dozens of repetitive themes in movies are not progressing culture, it tends to fabricate a sense of delusion where an audience believes they are being presented with a mindblowing experience of consuming this not-so inventive concept.
Hollywood’s Endless Recycling
Without sounding too existential, horror films, nevertheless, have a natural way of emotionally warping us in their world of thrillers. Seated comfortably, with unlimited processed foods, in a dimly lit cinema for an hour and a half, anticipating cataclysmic events; relieves our need for fast dopamine reactions. Even if it isn’t all that meaningful. Inevitably, our natural psychological responses to suspense gets us on our feet. There’s the captivation of Lily Rose Depp in Nosferatu, the remake of the classic 1922 film, or the release of Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein’s new and improved appearance, which collectively induced interest among the masses, rather than the film’s concept itself.
When movies stop changing, so do we.
But why do people seem to think that repetitive themes in movies are somehow a new concept? Movies never feel the same again when you always return to the familiar; recycling lines, actors, and even specific scenes to elevate the actor itself rather than the storyline. Yet, Hollywood has pretty much always been that way. Unwilling to invest in original ideas, movie studios create a narrative prison consuming itself. Most critics, like Angel Garcia from Blaze Radio, express their disappointment on the reliance on remakes by claiming “… not enough passion is put behind Hollywood blockbusters”. By bargaining, in a way, movie makers are selling junk to an audience that celebrates it anyway. It also eliminates the long hours and funds that shape up an original scary movie concept and simply leaves us unsatisfied with the same old final girl trope or the survival of a killing force.
With all due respect, stimulating visuals and graphics have a way of comforting the masses, just like watching your comfort superhero movie– but it reeks of unoriginality and gets away with it by overloading a dump of stimulant visuals. It’s not horribly wrong to enjoy these movies either, where it otherwise results in restricting yourself to entail every single detail to make a deeper analytic connection. In that case, life would be insufferable without the taste of niche interests regardless of the quality. To add, the fast pace of these types of content we engage with deeply reflects our way of being bored easily. The simplest example is how we feed that fast gratification of scrolling two seconds down a 15 second Instagram reel, but deny the part of ourselves the need to be analytical about the most of the products laid out for us to consume. For example, if you have ever watched the film, Mother!, there is a high probability of being completely lost until you had to look it up afterwards. Perhaps, you had no idea about something so “boring” to be incredibly complex, with endless layers that fundamentally requires careful thinking, rather than the answers and endings being laid out to you. It subconsciously adds up, altering our thought processes– the way we think, or do not think. Hence, leading to the argument that boredom could perhaps be beneficial in a larger scope.
A GOOD FILM MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE AND BORED
If you were to look at the reviews of Stanley Kubrick’s films, you’ll often come across the word “complex”. Never in a derogative way, Kubrick’s slow, intense, and almost controversial themes reflect the need for sophisticated audiences. When you get sucked into the experience, you forget the speed and the amount of dopamine you get from the duration. Similar to the David Lynch experience, Kubrick didn’t shy away from testing the audience’s patience with narratives floating in the air for us to interpret. In Clockwork Orange, the explicit graphics that had criticized the prison system led to a revolt in England. Or in the Shining, where he pushed the actress, Shelley Duvall, too far to “improve” her fear in the movie. While most true artists tend to lose control to create their masterpieces, it would be deranged for modern directors to do what Kubrick did.
Why Stanley Kubrick’s Precision Makes His Films Terrifying and Timeless:
The film, Eyes Wide Shut, hit a nerve in 1999, you’d never expect to be struck in our painfully weary 2020’s. Without taming any lust and desire, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman find themselves surrounded with the innermost privileged elites though the lethargic nineties of New York City. Kubrick sketches a sensual, dreamlike portrait of the extremes to which subconscious drives can render. Almost every action taken to separate from coveting only enhanced the connection to the sinister cult, erotically plunging Cruise deeper into the spiral of madness.
The cinematic masterpiece leaves us not worried about the slow nature of its suspense, but the utmost interesting aspect is that it leaves us to wonder about the realities hidden inside the movie. Its bottom up tension builds upon the density of multiple storylines of different characters, demanding answers to the background actors’ narrative or the mystic scene of people covered in masquerade and coats. Ultimately, the audience forgets that slowness and becomes lured into the chaos of what lies beneath is a forbidden secret of the dark side of the wealthy elites. The title proves to be a play on words, an ironic turn of phrase where everything is in front of you the entire time.
Hence, proving Kubrick’s work goes beyond cinematic pursuits; and leaving an entire message up to interpretation.
With this masterpiece of cinema, it was inevitable to avoid controversy again. Especially after knowing that Kubrick suddenly passed a week before its release. After screening the final cut, his mysterious death left questionable remarks after 24 minutes of footage declared missing through word of mouth. Significant changes were made before its release, which ultimately created conspiracy theories that might have to do with his death. Although he had already completed the film, most claim someone may “have wanted to stop the film from being shown could have done more to prevent it”.
I believe it is all entirely amusing to look beyond, when Kubrick’s perfect selection of the actors align with the occult narrative of the film. It wasn’t able to escape the superstitious investigations with Cruise’s involvement in the Church of Scientology, which is important to mention is under scrutiny for claims of being a dangerous cult. Just watch this amusing interview of Cruise describing his religious enlightenment, which my personal favorite part being at minute 5:52. It’s also interesting to recall Kidman’s divorce with Cruise after 11 years, with pictures of her being “set free” after their difficult marriage. With Kubrick’s harsh techniques, it seems interesting to make the couple live together throughout filming the movie; it makes you wonder what went down that reflected the energy in the movie. While modern celebrities transformed their personal lives into complete lucid transparency, Cruise and Kidman’s background of secrecy and anonymity becomes way more interesting when you consider the film’s context. It’s hard not to be intrigued with subconscious messages and representations without getting sucked into random celebrities’ personal lives from within our culture. Yet, it’s somehow a perfect incident that Cruise and Kidman’s backgrounds of cultish and secretive behavior tie a knot with the film’s storyline. It also raises eyebrows to the modern equivalent of society placing an enormous emphasis on the personal lives of celebrities inside the entertainment industry, or the elites. While they get praised for their professions, they’re often the complete polar opposite of how they appear.
Hence, to watch a film is to be moved, challenging a different element of human nature —it reveals the part of ourselves that wants to uncover the truth. It can be time consuming, which on the flip side can be good to learn about yourself, your interests, and things around you through these images we are being presented, or sold. A truly monumental film, like Eyes Wide Shut, is one of those eerie films that make you wonder ,from typing a question into Google, to falling into a trap of investigative research that leads you into rabbit holes filled with different information. Kubrick was not afraid to create in depth story telling, instilling fear in a made up world that doesn’t seem too far from reality. Deeply embedded in his own intelligence as a writer and director, Kubrick leaves us wondering whether there is a hint of reality behind the surface.