Race With the Devil (1975)

Hi everyone,
How are you all holding up during COVID-19? I hope you're all well and stay well!

Here in Seattle we're in quarantine for an indefinite amount of time. It's been nearly two weeks and I've already gone through my jigsaw puzzle collection ...

I am, of course, also plowing through horror movies. During the day though, I'm blowing through comedy shows because I need a guaranteed laugh.

Speaking of guaranteed laugh, my brother and I got into a discussion about whistling, recently, which prompted us to try to whistle. To the horror of both of us, we seemed to have lost the ability to whistle. There we were, walking around the house, staring at walls, and mildly panicking until slowly, but surely, the ability to whistle came back to us.

I also noted that when I was first trying to whistle, my jaw sort of "cracked", and that's when I realized I've been clenching my jaw/grinding my teeth for a while (days, weeks, months????). So this is my advice: please take time to laugh and try to whistle - even if it's just to make sure you're not locking your jaw in unrecognized stress.

Although we're trying to spend the day laughing and working on jigsaw puzzles, it's movie night every night in the Bergman home.

Last night my brother suggested the movie he's been asking me to watch, for years: Race With the Devil.

Why I haven't seen this film listed in some of 'the best religious cult horror' lists, is beyond me. This is a remarkably exciting for such a minimal premise. Two couples commence on an RV trip through rural Texas only to stumble across a religious cult - nightmares ensue. 

This is a thrilling film! Honestly, I wasn't expecting to find a story about an RV tearing top speed through tumbleweeds and dirt piles to be so exciting. IT IS!

Bonus, considering this is 1970's midnight pulp fodder, it's not 'ridiculous'. All actions are reasonable (e.g., no one is making stupid, garish mistakes), and the story unfolds with alarming ease and doom. This gritty relatability is also what made is so endearing. For example, there is a scene where a couple of friends are defying the cold in order to sit outside, drunk, and talk about nothing. 

I've been there. So Many Times. Bundled up, hunched over the table, smoking and being merrily tipsy with my friends into the early hours. Cheers, girls' weekend getaways.

In all, this is an overall menacing fun film with a Mad Max feel. Excellent choice for a late movie night. Also, judge the movie by this movie poster:

Exciting!

Not this one:

Yikes!

Pairs with a sh*t ton of snacks, lots of blankets, and surrounded by objects bought at tourists traps.

I watched this movie on Amazon, or use Horror Habit's Find It! Watch It! links to see where else you can "catch" this heart racer. 

Stay safe, be well!

The Invisible Man (2020)

There are few films where I've walked out of a theater and had a raw, visceral reaction emanating from my body and psyche.

The top ones are -

I Just Need A Gaddamn Moment To Process This: The Sixth Sense, The Others

Crying My Gaddman Eyes Out - Don't Touch Me: The Orphanage, A Tale Of Two Sisters

WHAT IN THE GADDAMN SCARY AMAZING HELL WAS THAT? SOMEONE WALK ME HOME: Dog Soldiers, Brotherhood of the Wolf
*Werewolves get me every time.

Based on the dates of these films, you can probably guess that I haven't had a *raw, visceral reaction* when walking out of the theater, in a while...

That changed when I saw the breathtaking remake of: The Invisible Man.

A quick history why this new The Invisible Man even exists and why I thought it was based on a true story:

Universal made the monumental mistake of trying to connect all the classic horror monsters into a series of re-booted classic creature features - hopping on the tails of comic book franchises. Why this didn't work is for another time, but it didn't work, until now. Until the monsters became their own again and this masterpiece was released - reinventing the horror of *An* Invisible Man.

A few weeks earlier I was sitting at a pub, not thinking about how the Universal Picture's Dark Universe no longer existed, when I saw the trailer for The Invisible Man. My initial thought and, embarrassingly, first words to the unsuspecting person to my left was: "This is based on a true story."

I'm dead now from mortification when I think about it - especially because of the look I got from this stranger - but I legitimately thought the trailer was about a remake of The Entity - a well documented story about a woman who was terrorized and abused by an invisible being. 

That story terrifies me, along with the story about the San Pedro haunting. BOTH ARE PISS YOUR PANTS TERRIFYING, and have many similarities.

As I was watching The Invisible Man, I wondered if both these stories actually played a part in the film. Particularly, since all stories take place in California and there is a scene in The Invisible Man that looks *an awful lot like the attic in the notorious San Pedro clip*. The fact that a woman with a history of being abused is terrorized by an invisible man, is aiding in this connection.

In all, there were a good several weeks were I thought this film was not actually a remake of a Universal cult classic, but based on allegedly true story(ies). 

And you know what - none of that matters because this is a remarkable film and what makes it terrifying is that it has ties to reality:

REAL LIFE FUCKING PSYCHOS

Hold on to your pants folks, this is a nerve-wrenching film. 

It's harrowing because it's so real and battles monsters that live next door - in the next room. The escape from and trying to get people to believe that these types of monsters exist *is* a huge portion of the terror of this film. Tread at your risk, those who have experienced this. It may not be the film for you right now. For me, it's a film where I walked out, heart beating, and I kinda wanted to scream "f*ck you, fight me* at everyone. 

In other words: This film will put you through the ringer, if you're not a gaddamn waste-of-space narcissist, anyway. It garners a lot of what makes us uncomfortable but also what makes us a bad ass. 

Pairs with an overnight bag and bottles (to drink out of or smash...). Best watched with best friends who would hide a body for you. 

I watched this film in the theater, right before Washington State was shut down for COVID-19. I understand that Universal released this film for streaming, in the wake of this crisis.

Be safe and take care of each other, everyone!