Movies: Come to Daddy, Spring, One Cut of the Dead, Crawl

Now may not be the best time for horror movies. I mean, what could be more scary? On the other hand, these movies also show us how people can resist and triumph over great odds (wait, that sounds like spoilers) or end up dead (there, fixed it). Giving people hope to fight, resist, survive—that’s definitely a good thing, right? So, here we go—five horror movies I saw recently. I would say I like them all—all of them are good. Though I wouldn’t easily recommend them all. Not without warning anyway. Viewer discretion is advised. And make sure to wash your hands properly and frequently. Which reminds me… did that IT guy sneeze on my keyboard when he fixed the IP phone this morning?

Come to Daddy (2019). Elijah Wood seldom plays the ‘normal guy’ in movies. I saw parts of Maniac (didn’t like the movie’s POV-camera style) and it reminded of his role in Sin City (yes, he’s in that movie). This movie started slow but it’s good. Some of the plot developments may come as jarring but they’re never not interesting. It’s a bit uneven but it’s darkly funny and gory.

Crawl (2019). For a movie called Crawl, this one’s just rightly paced. And no, there’s more swimming here than crawling. And there’s enough tension, enough characterization, and hungry alligators to fill this 80-plus minute movie.

One Cut of the Dead (2017). It’s a zombie movie but not your typical zombie movie. Lots of handheld camera, too. If you like movies that acknowledge their own artificiality, then you might like this one. It’s also better to go in blind (don’t read reviews or plot synopsis).

Ready or Not (2019). It would be a shame if you still haven’t seen this one. Maybe the best mainstream horror as of late. Samara Weaving using that hole-in-her-hand to pull herself out of that hell-hole is a horror movie scene to remember for years to come.

Spring (2014). A body-horror movie for hopeless romantics? Maybe. This movie is like Before Sunset, it’s set in an Italian village but it’s also a horror movie. And ‘body-horror’ there should be taken as a warning. There may be some disturbing imagery but less on violence and gore.