Horror-Thrillers To Get You In the Mood for "Us"
Jordan Peele's new film Us opens in theaters today, so it's time to get creepy
The brilliant and twisted mind behind Get Out returns this weekend. From Mad TV to Key & Peele to an Academy Award, it’s been quite the journey for director Jordan Peele. His new movie, Us, is easily one of the most anticipated of the year. We can’t wait to be majorly creeped out by whatever he has in store this time.
Get Out was an uncommon success in 2017, the rare horror-thriller that was a smash hit with critics and audiences, leading to Peele’s win for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars. He was unexpectedly able to wrap a scary, funny, and wicked smart story around a message about racism in America. It will be a tough one to top.
In light of Us hitting theaters today, we are recommending a few films similar to Jordan Peele’s vibe, the horror-thriller. Some of them lean harder on horror tropes than others, but you can bet each of them will take you on an intense ride. Make yourself some tea as you settle in for these, but please stay out of the Sunken Place.
Billy recommends...
Gerald’s Game (streaming on Netflix)
Gerald’s Game is made as awesome as it is because of the performance by the actress Carla Gugino, who plays Jessi Burlingame. She is by herself for 90% of the movie. We watch her go into insanity after her husband has a heart attack after trying to spice things up in the bedroom. By spicing things up I mean that she is handcuffed to the bed, and left all alone with no way to get out of the cuffs. This movie may sound a little too racy, but I assure you it is not, and that decision was a smart one by director Mike Flanagan.
Racy material has its place in certain movies, but it does not belong in Gerald’s Game. Mike Flanagan does a brilliant job with his direction. We get the sexy undertones early and that creates a relationship that hooks us from the beginning.
A connection has been created and the tragedy of of Jessi’s husband dying hits us hard. The sadness doesn’t hit us, but the fear. That is where the intensity comes from. There are no doubt scary moments to Gerald’s Game, but the intensity we feel is atmospheric. Through imagery and an amazing performance the audience feels like it is descending into insanity along with our main character.
Gerald’s Game is sexy, terrifying, and atmospheric. Such a strange trio of feelings to wrap up in a movie and Flanagan navigates that brilliantly with his direction and Gugino’s performance. She brings to life the strange emotions we are feeling. My next suggestion, The Conjuring, may be way too terrifying for some. So watch Gerald’s Game if you want a film that is more intense than it is horror-filled. You won’t regret it.
The Conjuring (streaming on Netflix)
I really should just post the trailer and point you to the iconic scare of “the clap.” When The Conjuring trailer came out I saw that scene and could not sleep that night. While being scared that night I also was so impressed by the creativity of that scare. Truly brilliant filmmaking by James Wan, one of the best horror directors of the 2000s. His resume consists of Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring. Because of that it is frustrating that he has begun to direct films like Furious 7 and Aquaman. Both are fine films, but it feels like his talent for horror is being wasted.
The Conjuring deals with the one horror element that truly makes me terrified: The paranormal. It could just be our minds or an intensified reaction to our fear, but I believe this stuff is real. Blood, home invasion, the entire movie of Texas Chainsaw Massacre do not affect me like The Conjuring did. After the opening sequence we get introductory crawl setting the stage for what we are about to see. Star Wars made this method famous and it works just as good here. It hints that this is a real story and that makes the movie so much scarier.
The scares work more in The Conjuring because of the love story. At the root of this movie is one of the most beautiful marriages I have seen in film between Ed and Lorraine Warren. Both are played brilliantly by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Without their performances we would not have such an effective movie.
Even if you are not a horror fan I recommend that you watch The Conjuring. As long as you are willing to give up a couple nights of sleep. If you can make that sacrifice then please give this one a shot. You will get some great scares, brilliant direction, amazing acting, and a beautiful love story.
Drew recommends...
The Invitation (streaming on Netflix)
So your ex-wife and her new husband invite you and your girlfriend over for a dinner party. Sounds mighty awkward, but ultimately harmless, right? Except something seems… off. They tell you about this grief counseling group they’ve joined and how it’s changed their lives. Their strange friend agrees. As your suspicion grows, no one else at the party seems to share it. Suddenly you’re not sure if everything you’re noticing is real or imagined.
Transpiring over one night at a swanky home in the Hollywood Hills, The Invitation is paranoid, tense, and mysterious. It’s a slow burn psychological thriller that leaves you gasping. What makes The Invitation so creepy is that we have all been to a dinner party like this: Red wine in oversized glasses, uncomfortable conversation, friends you’ve lost touch with, a couple strangers that no one but the hosts know, that sort of thing. If this situation already puts you on edge, just wait until you see this movie.
The Invitation is one I’d go into knowing as little as possible (I’m not embedding the trailer here for a reason), just because it’s fun to second-guess yourself through the film. The last shot is supremely disquieting. It’s the kind of final note that so many horrors and thrillers fail to hit. Maybe save this one for after that Saturday night dinner at your ex’s place.
Green Room (streaming on Netflix)
Weak stomachs should avoid this one. Shocking, dark, and brutal, Green Room is one long nightmare for its protagonists. When a punk rock band plays a show at an eerie, remote club in rural Oregon, they stumble upon an act of violence backstage. The club’s neo-Nazi owner, an against-type Patrick Stewart, traps the band in the green room. As both sides figure out what to do, the situation gets more and more dire.
Without compelling performances, Green Room simply wouldn’t work, so good thing it has plenty of those. Every actor is all in here, from the terrified and desperate band members played by Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, and Alia Shawkat to Sir Patrick Stewart’s cool menace. It’s incredibly unsettling to see the actor we know as Captain Picard and Professor Charles Xavier become a white supremacist monster.
Writer-director Jeremy Saulnier (Hold the Dark, True Detective season 3) infuses Green Room with dark dread and grit. Everything about this movie feels real and urgent. As the band literally fights for their lives, you might be watching through your fingers while vowing to never, ever go to backwoods Oregon. That’s how you know this is a horrifying and super effective thriller.
And, if you went looking for 2018 Best Picture winner Green Book and mistakenly saw Green Room instead, I’m very, very sorry.
Streaming TV Corner
What we’re watching this week…
Billy: Bojack Horseman (streaming on Netflix)
I got through Season 1 a year or so ago and I did not get the hype. It was so dark and the humor felt mean. After a Parks and Rec binge I needed to switch to something I haven’t seen much of so I decided to pick it back up and I guess I get it this time. “Getting it” does not mean I got smarter over the year. It just means the humor hits hard this time around. I have binged Season 1 again and I loved it. Using animal stereotypes and mixing those into human scenarios makes for some amazing laughs. Throw this one on if you need a good background show. I will definitely be watching more of Bojack Horseman.
Drew: The Case Against Adnan Syed (streaming on HBO Now)
Serial heads, unite! The HBO documentary series The Case Against Adnan Syed brings the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee and the (erroneous?) conviction of Adnan Syed back to the cultural forefront. During the first two episodes, the details of the first season of Serial came rushing back to me in a hurry. With two episodes still to go (airing on Sunday nights), it’s unlikely we will get any earth-shattering reveals, but it’s fascinating to see the impact this case and Serial’s massive popularity has had on the Baltimore County community.
The Office Episode of the Week
Billy: “Dinner Party”
This is my all-time favorite episode of comedy television. The awkwardness is almost too much, but it rides that line perfectly for amazing laughs. The highlight being the demonstration of Michael’s “flat screen TV.” Him pushing the TV into the wall is one of the best physical gags of all-time. If you have waited a week since the last time you have watched The Office then jump right in with this episode.
Links to get you hyped
Stranger Things 3 is coming, people! Cancel your Fourth of July plans now. Can we just get an entire season of Dustin and Steve hanging out?
Quentin Tarantino’s next film, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, has a teaser trailer. DiCaprio, Pitt, Margot Robbie. What more could you want?
Natalie Portman and Jon Hamm head to space in the trippy Lucy in the Sky trailer.
Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, and John David Washington (Denzel’s son) will star in Christopher Nolan’s next movie. Just take my money now.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please pass it along to a friend, share it on social, or shout it from the nearest mountaintop. We’d appreciate it.
If you’d like to read past newsletters, hit up our archive.