81 bugs

you cannot, CANNOT, expect cosmic horror to be explained to you, you can't expect it to tell you whats going on, the POINT is that you dont fucking know

as soon as you know whats happening- as soon as the lights are turned on, the glinting of something sharp in the darkness will turn from the threat of jagged teeth into a reality of simple broken glass, passive, and safe at distance

this very issue, the fact that people think that a lack of information is a flaw, is what ruined Stranger Things. It went from interesting, and mysterious, to boring, as soon as things were explained.

You can have horror in excruciating detail of course, it's one of the best ways to have horror in general, sometimes knowing is worse than not knowing, especially if there's no consequence. But cosmic horror?? the fear of something incomprehensible?? you shouldn't know, and the not knowing should scare you.

movies right now are absolutely terrified of silence. every spare second is crammed with motion and noise and information. there’s always something new to look at, something new to process. look here. now here. don’t blink. don’t breathe. it’s constant stimulation. there’s no room left for a moment to land before the next one is already gone.

there’s good sci fi horror out there that do silence and restraint well. i can immediately think of under the skin, annihilation, and ex machina. sometimes the silence is the point. personally i think iron lung works in that lineage.

this isn’t a movie that will let you sit there and passively consume. this is a movie full of visual and audial clues waiting for you to unravel them. this is a movie that wants you to notice your breathing. to feel the silence press in until it’s oppressive.

isolation is the movie. it’s you alone with your thoughts, with time stretching and warping, with nothing to distract you from the constant dread creeping in. it’s not the monsters out there that you’re afraid of. not the constant drip, drip, drip of impending doom. but you, alone, in an endless sea of red.

can you count your breaths in the silence? can you hear your heart beating in your ears? can you live with yourself?