It is somewhat an unspoken rule that during October one must indulge themselves in watching horror movies; however, many modern horror movies are filled with cheap jump scares and terrible screenwriting. Yes, there are plenty of Halloween movies that do not feed into the horror genre, but there is only so many times one can watch Hocus Pocus (though it is a classic). This is a list of films to watch if perhaps you are feeling so festive this Halloween season.
Daisies (1966)
Considered to be so vile, the director Vera Chytilova was banned from working in her home country of Czechoslovakia for ten years. Daisies depicts two teenage girls name Marie engaged in a plethora of hijinks and pranks. The film starts with our two heroines lounging in bathing suits proclaiming in an existential dread that life is too short to be good and perhaps it is better to be bad. For the remainder of the Marie and Marie do as they please such as gorging themselves with food and going on dates with older men. Following the spirit of the new wave and experimental genre that were gaining momentum at the time, Daisies rejects traditional narrative and instead focuses on shocking the viewer. Using colors, shock cuts, music and sounds Daisies goes against usual cinematic conventions. The film was mentioned in Laura Mulvey’s famed (1973) article “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” An experimental filmmaker herself, Mulvey claims that films with a traditional narrative often are made in the perspective of a caucasian male, however experimental and arthouse films are able to tell stories in a way that is more diverse. Daisies expresses its ideas in a non-linear way in which there is no real plot and can only be described as complete chaos. The two protagonists of the film are free to do whatever they please. In the most iconic scene, the two women are laying on a bed cutting phallic sausages while a message from a rejected lover plays on an answering machine.
Available on Filmstruck
Gilda (1946)
Featuring the most iconic hair flip in the history of cinema, Gilda is a quintessential film noir that should be on everyone’s watch list. Gilda follows an American gambler Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) working at an illegal casino in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Drama ensues when the wealthy owner of the casino, Mundson (George Macready) abruptly marries Farrell’s former lover the free-spirited Gilda (Rita Hayworth). Loyal to his boss, Farrell tries to conceal the truth about his past with Gilda from Mundson; however, Gilda is determined to win back Farrell’s affection. A passionate love-hate dynamic grows between the two protagonists. Perhaps the best way to describe Gilda to a modern audience is to simply call it “ stylish and melodramatic”. Though slightly outdated, the film still brings interesting conversations about the depiction of femme fatales to the table. Blatantly sexual while still harboring insecurities, Gilda is the well rounded female character that films from that era often lacked. The character of Gilda has been subtly referenced throughout pop culture as a sex symbol. Most notably the character served as an inspiration for Jessica Rabbit in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988). Furthermore, the relationship between Farrell and Mundson one of the few instances of homoerotic subtext being displayed onscreen during that time period.
Available on Itunes
Paris, Texas (1984)
Featuring long realistic shots of landscapes of the southwestern United States, Paris, Texas, is often regarded as one of the most “American” movies in the history of film, despite its director being German. The movie chronicles Travis, a man who has left civilization for four years and his struggles to return. The movie starts in medias res with Travis reuniting with his brother who is raising Travis’ seven-year-old son. After Travis and his son reunite they embark on a road trip to find his mother. The film relies on silence on mystery in order to unfold the story in an interesting way. It is twenty-six minutes into the film when our protagonist first utters his first words. Paris, Texas is a rare film in which no every plot point is spelled out to the viewer, instead one has to rely on subtext in order to enjoy the film.
Available on Itunes
Hopefully these movies will distract you from the repetitive Halloween movies this season!