10/1 - The Seventh Seal
If faith isn’t a product of reason but is instead practiced only once reason has been abandoned, what then is faith? This question is evident in Antonius Block, a Swedish knight returning home from the Crusades during the Black Plague, as he struggles to understand the Silence of God and the overarching banality towards evil in his homeland. He challenges Death in a game of chess in search of answers, but is repeatedly given silence or open-ended answers by his opponent, to Antonius’ dismay. This also doesn’t help that Antonius’ doubts are a paradox. He needs faith in order to abandon reason, and yet he knows that until he abandons reason he won’t have faith. How then is he able to accomplish this?
Throughout his game with Death, Antonius begins by admitting that he is delaying his inevitability so that he can pursue knowledge or certainty. Unable to rationalize a leap of faith and yet unable to stop asking questions, Antonius instead turns to action. Having collected a group traveling partners over the course of the film, among them a family, whose members resemble the Holy Family, and having been promised by Death that he’ll kill everyone the next time he sees them, Antonius decides to take his time with Death and provide enough time for the family escape him and his entourage from Death’s grasp.
Antonius’ meaningful act, or rather sacrifice, is exemplified in James 2: 14-18. “What good is it if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? [...] Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Similarly, Kierkegaard explains that faith alone may bring an individual to give his love to his neighbor. Despite losing against Death, Antonius finally understands that faith is more than just believing, and that through both faith and action, one might find the answers they were looking for and the blissful escape from the horrors of the world
5/5
10/2 - Late Night with the Devil
It wears its influences on its sleeves while having many original twists and turns throughout the runtime.
4/5
10/3 - The Mothman Prophecies
This remains to be one of the most unsettling films I’ve seen since The Mist. The film has a quality to it where few horror films succeed in doing, and that’s enveloping you in its creepy atmosphere that chills you to your core. It does a lot by doing (and showing) so little and its suspense keeps you invested all throughout its runtime.
Yet the film’s story gets completely off track to what the first half is building up to, and it goes on a weird tangent that doesn’t necessarily pertain to the overall narrative or the supposed “real world events” it’s based on. Regardless, the suspense, the atmosphere and Richard Gere’s performance is what saves this film, and is certainly a must watch film that’ll get you in the paranoid mood this spooky season. Super excited to dress up as my favorite Cryptid this year!
3/5
10/4 - Suspiria (2018)
A vast improvement from the first film in terms of acting and directing, but it failed to match the original film’s spectacular cinematography and concepts. In fact, what both versions have in common are their pacing issues. The first one’s too quick and the other one’s too slow. The reboot’s bombastic ending is probably the only thing to justify its snail paced momentum, but it’s still a worthwhile experience for any horror fan to appreciate.
3/5
10/5 - Phantom of the Paradise
A hodgepodge of synth-rock and literature’s greatest gothic works, it’s blatant to see how this film greatly influenced and inspired Daft Punk. The best way I could describe this synth pop symposium is in De Palma’s colorful direction and dark humor, setting the stage for what we see from him in the coming decade(s). He doesn’t shy away from letting the cheesy dialogue and corny music get in the way of having a good time, while providing the right amount of originality that’s both provocative and hilarious. Would I have preferred a longer runtime and a slower pace? Sure, but I feel that would take away some of the film’s energy and humor.
Unlike the brilliant, charismatic, methodical Phantom that’s been immortalized on Broadway, the Phantom in this film is a bumbling idiot who’s quick to temper, easily fooled, and barely succeeds in exacting his revenge. And even then he does it through supernatural means whereas the Broadway Phantom accomplished it through sheer force of will - but that’s the point, and it makes for great filmmaking.
4/5
