passin through

I love Louis. i do. however. he is literally that one guy that breaks up with their toxic ex. posts like 30 consecutive stories about bein powerful n single n livin their best life n within the week is back with their other ex who just as toxic but in New n Excitin ways

the play trial in s2 of iwtv is basically just 'boy toy forced to watch couples counselin live on stage' right

incessantly thinkin about how the joker beat jason to death with a cowbar. n a crowbar is what Bruce will use to crack open his coffin.

so interview with the vampire (2022) (1994) is a metaphor for homosexuality. right. right?

so the lost boys (1987) has gotta be a metaphor for homosexuality. right. its gotta be. right.

can you imagine bein randy n goin to therapy after everythin just to realizes absolutely no one is as effective at helpin you unpack the series of events in your life that traumatized you like your dead ex coworker that killed four people kidnapped n shot you. I'd go insane.

thinkin about the palpable RELIEF benson feels when randy tells him about ms beard. god. its all over his face. this moment of oh my god. I could be wrong. I can't be wrong. this boy has to be fixable. or it was all worth nothin. n his last chance crumbles in his hands.

sometimes im like. ok. look. if you REALLY squint n also blink n close your eyes you can read whatever tf was goin on with benson n randy as platonic (or. like. adjacent.) HOWEVER. there's somethin to be said about how after benson kidnaps ms beard there is a direct comparison for how benson acts with OTHER people n whatever hes got goin on with randy. he manhandles ms beard sure but he never grabs her by the back of the neck or places a hand gently on the lower back or snaps n points for her to come. everytime he talks with ms beard its harsh n short n angry. there are times where he speaks to the two of them back to back n you can HEAR how benson changes his cadence for randy n like. I dunno if there's a platonic readin for that.

just finished readin over the black phone short story n one of the things that was a real interestin difference between the story n the movie is that the movie has less then no interest in the suspension of disbelief (not that that's a bad thing!!) but from the moment the phone rings we believe it to be real. to actually be a call from somethin beyond that room. beyond life. it's an accepted fact. vs the short story which up until the very end can be interpreted as somethin solely in finney's mind. he asks if he's crazy n the boy on the phone ignores his question. your unsure if he's imaginin things to soothe himself after bein left alone in that room for days. maybe his mind simply latched onto the phone n the idea of freedom so desperately he dreamed a connection. it's not until the last sentence that suspension is cut n you realize the grabber hears it too.

was watchin a video recently about the black phone where Ethan Hawke mentions not wantin the role at first cause he didn't want to become type cast or remembered for these villian characters n I was turnin this thought around in my mind when it came to me that despite givin an utterly chillin performance. the grabber is simply. not a very relevant character. he is not burned into the watchers mind. he's a blank slate. a mask. one we know very little about. which fascinated me the more I thought about it cause horror is a genre DEFINED by its antagonists. Freddy Kruger. Micheal Myers. Jason. they're remembered long past their protagonists. but the black phone has less then no interest in prioritizin it's villian. this story is not about him. it's the story of those children. of his victims. of their lives. their deaths. their voices. they may forget their own names but we will remember them. the grabber is simply what he is. a hollowed out mask. nothin beyond it.

do you think Finney still flinches when he hears a phone ring. do you think he still picks up dead land lines n hopes to hear a voice through the static. just one last time.

randy who will never run. will never call the cops or try to get away. who will always come right back to benson. cause it's the first time he's ever felt safe under the spotlight. cause it's the eye of someone far more destructive.