Squidish

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I was attracted to the Lovecraftian aspect of the title.  Of Tentacles, I mean.  I wasn’t aware that Into the Dark was a Hulu series of television shows based on holiday horror.  I watched Pure without realizing that.  Movies these days are complicated.  In any case, Tentacles caught my attention and although it isn’t a tier-one horror film, it’s fun in its own way.  Tara, a desperate young woman, is looking to buy a house.  She finds Sam, who’s trying to sell his parents’ place and seduces him into letting her renovate it.  The two fall in love and Tara reveals she’s being stalked by an ex.  Sam has, however, come down with an illness that doctors can’t identify.  Something is putting tentacles into his ears as he sleeps.  It doesn’t take long to figure out that Tara’s not what she claims to be.  She’s some kind of creature that originated in the ocean, but survives on land by taking part of her victims and slowly becoming their double.  The original, of course, must be disposed of.

This is a serviceable little movie.  The acting is good, particularly on Tara’s part.  There’s enough mystery and energy to keep viewers engaged, despite the commercials.  It also made me realize that Into the Dark might be worth exploring a little more intentionally.  When I went to my usual places to find out more about what I’d just watched, it was a little tricky.  To find the write-up on IMDb you needed to find the series title first so that you could click onto the individual episode.  This is so different than either the major studios or independent filmmakers.  Streaming services, however, have been offering some good home-grown horror.  I’ve seen some notable examples from Netflix, Amazon, and, of course, Hulu.

Anything with tentacles seems to have a tangible Lovecraft connection these days.  In large part it seems to be because of the internet success of Cthulhu.  Those who spend lots of time online know who the Old One is without having ever read H. P. or having watched horror.  He’s become the monster with tentacles, something my college sci-fi professor would doubtlessly have commented upon.  Lovecraft himself would have, I suspect, enjoyed the notoriety but would likely have felt some disappointment regarding the point he was trying to get across.  (That’s more evident in Older Gods.)  The vacuousness of being alone in a meaningless universe was more his aesthetic.  Still, it inspired some fun films for a sleepy weekend afternoon, and its tentacles keep on reaching.

Pure Fear

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At work we have the opportunity to say a little about ourselves on a shared document for our teams.  This is a fairly new thing, so people I’ve worked with for years have no reason to look at it.  A couple of new hires, however, have noted that I watch horror movies and this has led to some budding friendships.  Since we’re all remote workers it’s mostly a matter of a line or two in an email about whether I’ve seen this or that film.  One of those recommended was the Hulu original Pure.  It’s actually pretty good.  The idea is a bunch of teenage girls are brought to a retreat center for a purity ball with their fathers.  This kind of thing can get very creepy very fast, given the incestuous overtones for such a thing.  Not only is it a religious event, it’s based on the story of Lilith.

Collier’s Lilith

The pastor preaches his first sermon about Lilith, but the girls from cabin 4 sneak out at night to meet some guys.  (Their presence is explained at the end of the movie.)  That night the girls summon Lilith, whom the minister’s daughter says is a demon.  The summoning works.  Lilith begins to interfere with services as the girls are tempted by the guys who are hanging around.  At the end, Lilith “possesses” Shay (the lead girl) and frees them from being controlled by the men in their lives.  The message is a refreshing one, and Lilith ends of being, well, somewhat as Shay puts it, “One man’s demon is another’s angel.”  

Religion and horror make a good couple.  I’ve never seen a movie that features the story of Lilith before.  The thing is, she’s not the scary part of the movie.  The religious believers, the fathers who try to control their daughters rather than giving them support after listening to them, are.  Parenting is tough, no doubt about that.  None of us are born into life with all the answers.  We quite often find ourselves not knowing for sure what we should do.  I couldn’t imagine being a parent claiming to have the solutions for all problems.  I’m a guy who watches horror for a form of therapy!  What I do think, however, is that we can try to be reasonable, loyal, and supportive.  I learn as much from being a parent as I teach.  The same was true of being a professor.  Humility, along with a willingness to continue learning your entire life is the only way that makes sense to me.  Although not a major studio production, this was one of the scariest movies I’d seen in a long time.