Evil Dead Burns is the latest in a series of recent horror movies that explored family dynamics and generational trauma through the genre of horror.
While Evil Dead Burns leaned heavily into graphic violence, other films use ghosts, demons, and other supernatural monsters to explore the trauma of suicide, dementia, and abuse. In these films, emotional scars, depression, and abuse become literal ghosts, killers, or curses that characters cannot hide from or ignore.
[imbd.com]Hereditary got to me. Not only did it get into my head the way few horror films have, its story perfectly embodies the ways horror films can illustrate the toxic dynamics of a traumatized family. Here, when the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry, trying to outrun the sinister fate they have inherited. Its visuals are precise (especially that use of tiny models that match the interiors of the house). The death scenes are memorable (watch out for that telephone pole), and the performances are uniformly strong (Toni Collette does the finest work of her career as a grieving mother who’s being surrounded by ominous forces). What I enjoyed most is how the story slowly revealed itself as horror. Rather than placing the supernatural elements up front, Hereditary begins as a dark family drama about grief, then gradually takes us to an otherworldly place. Specifically, the film turns the literal horrors of a demonic cult into an allegory for generational curses and mental illness. The movie uses supernatural possession to show how parents pass down grief, guilt, and dysfunction to their children. ★★★ ★
[imbd.com]I will be honest with you, I only watched this one because I thought the cover looked creepy. Turns out We Are Still Here is a gruesome little Haunted House flick with small touches of Folk Horror. Here we follow a husband and wife who move into a small-town home that might be inhabited by their dead son’s ghost or some other malicious spirit. The first aspect I want to complement is the mother character, played effectively by Barbara Crampton. While Crampton has been a staple in horror films for years, I think she does some of her best work as a grieving mother who thinks her son’s ghost is haunting her home. The second aspect is the appearance of the ghosts. I’ve seen a lot of movie monsters in my time, but these minions are fiery, cinder-fist beings with burnt skin and dead white pupils for eyes who can burn you alive with just a touch. The movie may be a slow burn (that pace may lose some viewers), but it all culminates nicely with a frenzied climax involving shotguns, head wounds, demonic spirits, and an angry mob of townspeople right out of a classic horror movie. ★ ★ ★1/2
[imbd.com]It is a frightening thing watching a loved one lose touch with reality; Relic takes that very human fear and crafts it into a spooky little horror flick. Telling the story of 3 women (mother, daughter, and grandmother) who must battle a malevolent force slowly taking over their family’s decaying home, this film sustains a sense of dread throughout its 90-minute running length. What’s effective is how tactile the movie is. Here, the evil force isn’t some dumb jump scare; it’s a mass of clammy decaying flesh that spreads like a fungus, an all too effective symbol for the destructive power of mental illness. Plus I enjoy the film’s evocative haunted setting. Layered with over 70 years of accumulated objects, the family home feels cluttered and lived-in, representing a fading memory. The interior gradually shifts into a disorienting, maze-like architectural labyrinth that mirrors cognitive decline. ★★★
