PRISONERS (2013) - 10/24/2024

Am I the sick one?

I don’t know why, but films like these are my absolute favorite. These dark, psychologically depraved things where we really take a deep dive into the despair of the souls of the characters involved. A little bit mystery box thriller, a little bit character examination, set against a fucked up story. I love it. I need it. Give me more.

But these are about the absolute edge of my pure enjoyment, any further and it tips into a genre of horror I just don’t vibe with, but up until then, I am all in. Your Silence of the Lambs, Memories of a Murder, Cruisings, Summer of Sams, all of them. It’s no wonder why I love Fincher so much, a complete master of the depraved genre with stuff as fucked up as The Girl with Dragon Tattoo that can also bend towards a more pop sensibility like Gone Girl. It’s why I probably thoroughly enjoyed Strange Darling and Longlegs, even with what I perceived as some of their flaws. I love this shit so much.

Of course it doesn’t necessarily only extend to serial murder mystery movies, but those tend to capture this fucked up vibe I enjoy in films - this odd darkness that can be so thrilling. We see it across many Bong Joon-ho films like Mother (my favorite) and Parasite. I’ve noticed it this year in Sorcerer and In the Bedroom. This generally gritty, disgusting dark vibe that is executed so cleanly and professionally that it is just so alluring. The form, somehow, does not match the content in the best way.

I understand that these are a lot of films that traditionally get the film bros all worked up and hot under the collar - their larger (arguably problematic) representation in film culture is not lost on me, but they just draw me in every time. It’s the same vibe that Gillian Flynn exudes in all three of her fantastic novels and that masters like Fincher, Hitchcock, Bong, and especially Villeneuve can absolutely jump on and make the most disturbing stories some of the fucking coolest. Everytime there’s something like this, I’m all the way in. And I pray that doesn’t put me on some type of watchlist.