The horror continues! (As does my relentless monopolization of this thread… 
)
Saw a ton of stuff last week. Too many to mention really, but here are some highlights:
Martin (1977) – finally got to see this early film by George Romero. An unusual modern take on a vampire film. Pretty dark and disturbing.
Beau is Afraid – Couldn’t wait for the Japanese release next month, and, to be honest, I find the idea of watching a three-hour movie in a theatre a bit daunting these days, so I shelled out for an import blu-ray. Like many people, I am not sure what to make of this. I guess I like it—I have to at least admire the ambition. It’s quite an amazing piece of work, but what is it exactly??! I guess it laid to rest my misconception that Ari Aster is some kind of “new hope for modern horror cinema,” because it’s not really a horror film. I wonder if, now that he’s got Beau Is Afraid is out of his system, we might get something more grounded from him again?
…But I just read that his next movie is going to be a “black comedy fantasy film” starring Nicholas Cage, so I guess not!
The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015) – directed by Osgood Perkins (son of Psycho’s Anthony Perkins!) I thought this was absolutely fantastic. Along with Hereditary and The Witch, probably one of my favorite horror movies of the millennium so far. I won’t say anything about the plot, because this is definitely one where the less you know about it beforehand, the better, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes creepy supernatural/occult type stories. This really got under my skin and stayed there a lot longer than I was comfortable with!
The Shining – the US version. This is one of my all-time favorites, so how on earth did I not know until last week that the US version of the film is almost 25 minutes longer than the international version that I am familiar with?! Anyway, when I discovered that, I instantly purchased a blu-ray of the US version to rectify the problem.
It was great to see the additional and extended scenes. Of particular note for this forum, Jack’s alcoholism is made much more explicit in the US version, whereas in the international version it is really only alluded to.
I will probably watch the longer cut any time I watch it the future, but if was watching it with someone who had never seen it before, I think I would put on the shorter international version, as, like many others (including Kubrick, apparently), I think it is the tighter and more impactful version of the film.
On a personal note—I passed my fourth month sober last weekend. 