1145 – ParaNorman (2012)

timespace coordinates: 1710s – 2012 small town of Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts

ParaNorman is a 2012 American stop-motion animated dark fantasy comedy horror film, produced by Laika and distributed by Focus Features. Directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler, from a screenplay by Butler, it stars the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Elaine Stritch, Bernard Hill, Jodelle Ferland, Tempestt Bledsoe, Alex Borstein and John Goodman.

It is the first stop-motion film to use a 3D color printer to create character faces, and only the second to be shot in 3D. In the film, Norman, a young boy who can communicate with ghosts, is given the task of ending a 300 year-old witch’s curse on his Massachusetts town, despite being grounded by his father. (wiki)

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1142 – Planet Terror (2007)

timespace coordinates: 2000’s rural Texas / Mexico

! extreme violence and gore !

Planet Terror is a 2007 American independent zombie film directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Naveen Andrews, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Stacy Ferguson, and Bruce Willis. It follows a group of people attempting to survive an onslaught of zombie-like creatures as they feud with a military unit. It was released theatrically in North America as part of a double feature with Quentin Tarantino‘s Death Proof under the title Grindhouse, to emulate the experience of viewing exploitation films in a “grindhouse” theater. In addition to directing the film, Rodriguez wrote the script, directed the cinematography, wrote the musical score, co-edited, and produced it. (wiki)

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1141 – Attack the Block (2011)

timespace coordinates: 2011 South London

Attack the Block is a 2011 British science fiction comedy horror film written and directed by Joe Cornish and starring John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, and Nick Frost. It was the film debut of Cornish, Boyega, and composer Steven Price.

The film centres on a teenage street gang who have to defend themselves from predatory alien invaders on a council estate in South London on Guy Fawkes Night. (wiki)

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1140 – Kamera o tomeru na! / One Cut of the Dead (2017)

One Cut of the Dead (カメラを止めるな! Kamera o Tomeru na!, transl. “Don’t Stop the Camera!”) is a 2017 Japanese zombie comedy film directed by Shin’ichirô Ueda. Made with a low budget of ¥3 million ($25,000) with a cast of unknown actors, the film opened in Japan in a small theatre for a six day run. Following its international success at its screening at the Udine Film Festival, the film began getting wider release, including a re-release in Japan. It grossed US $27,935,711 (¥3.12 billion) in Japan and $30.5 million worldwide, making box office history by earning over a thousand times its budget. The film also received universal critical acclaim, holding a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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1137 – Psycho Beach Party (2000)

timespace coordinates: 1962 Malibu Beach, California

Psycho Beach Party is a 2000 comedy horror film based on the off-Broadway play of the same name, directed by Robert Lee King. Charles Busch wrote both the original play and the screenplay. As the title suggests, Psycho Beach Party, set in 1962 Malibu Beach, is a parody of 1950s psychodramas, 1960s beach movies and 1980s slasher films.

Florence Forrest (Lauren Ambrose) is a Gidget-like character determined to learn to surf, and earns the nickname “Chicklet” from the surfer guys. However Chicklet begins displaying multiple personalities, experiences inexplicable blackouts, and fears that she might be the one responsible for a series of mysterious murders in her beachside town. The deaths are investigated by Captain Monica Stark (Charles Busch), who also suspects Chicklet’s mother (Beth Broderick), Chicklet’s best friend Berdine (Danni Wheeler), surfing guru the Great Kanaka (Thomas Gibson) and B-movie actress Bettina Barnes (Kimberley Davies). (wiki)

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Los Straitjackets – Tempest (Psycho Beach Party)

1135 – Us (2019)

timespace coordinates: 1986 – 2019 Santa Cruz, California

Us is a 2019 American psychological horror thriller film written and directed by Jordan Peele, starring  Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker. The film follows a family who are confronted by murderous doppelgangers known as “the Tethered”.

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themes and interpretations

Critic Jim Vejvoda related the Tethered to “urban legends” and “xenophobic paranoia about the Other”, (…) Journalist Noel Ransome viewed the film as being about “the effects of classism and marginalization”, writing “the Tethered are effigies of this same situational classism. They’re trapped—mentally and physically—and ignored”. Joel Meares of Rotten Tomatoes also noted that the Tethered, referencing the “we’re Americans” line, are representatives of the duality of American society, how some citizens can afford to live on top of the class system, while others are stuck in illiterate poverty. He also noted the title Us could mean “U.S.”, or United States.

The Tethered’s red jump suits and single glove were an allusion to Michael Jackson along with the “Thriller” shirt seen on young Adelaide, and Peele has stated that Jackson was “the patron saint of duality”. Peele referenced many other instances of 1980s culture, including allusions to The Lost Boys and Hands Across America, stating “Everything in this movie was deliberate, that is one thing I can guarantee you. Unless you didn’t like something and that was a complete accident”.

The film contains numerous references to Jeremiah 11:11, which reads: “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them'” (NIV). Critic Rosie Fletcher commented on the context, with Jeremiah warning Jerusalem was facing destruction due to false idols, and expressed the opinion that the film’s characters also “worshiped the wrong things”…  (wiki)

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LUNIZ — I GOT 5 ON IT

1118 – Hardware (1990)

timespace coordinates: Christmastime in New York City  (21st century, a nuclear war has transformed the Earth into a radioactive wasteland where the sea has dried up leaving it as a post-apocalyptic desert.)

See these mighty buildings. It all shall
be thrown down and shattered to splinters.
The earth will shake, rattle and roll. The
masses will go hungry, their bellies bloat.
These are the birth pains.
No flesh shall be spared. MARK-13 (Read more)

Hardware is a 1990 British science fiction horror film starring Dylan McDermott and Stacey Travis. The film, which was written and directed by Richard Stanley, also features cameos from Iggy Pop and Lemmy. Since its release, it has become a cult film. The film is about a self-repairing robot that goes on a rampage in a post-apocalyptic slum. Fleetway Comics sued the film-makers over the screenplay because it plagiarised a short story entitled “SHOK!” that appeared in 1980 in the Judge Dredd Annual 1981, a spin-off publication of the popular British weekly anthology comic 2000 AD. (wiki)

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