WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
Even though he is a modern director, I would honestly put Osgood Perkins up there with the likes of Ari Aster and Jordan Peele, who also lean into the elevated horror that seems to be hitting our screens in the recent years.
The Monkey
I’m going to say this right here, right now – I absolutely love this film, and it isn’t just because it is based on a Stephen King short story because I haven’t even read it! Theo James portrays the personalities of the twins Bill and Hal brilliantly, especially in keeping with the fact that Bill is a complete arsehole! To think the chaos of this film is all caused by a simple wind-up toy monkey is absolute genius and if I am honest, you need to prepare yourself for some Final Destination level deaths from the outset! What is interesting about this, outside of the deaths of course, is that they name the babysitter Annie Wilkes (a reference to the lead character in Stephen King’s Misery)as well as the fact that they change the monkey to playing a drum instead of cymbals as in the short story. What I didn’t pick up on before is that the boys also have a teacher called Mrs Torrence, a reference to The Shining perhaps? Point is can you really blame the toy? If Bill doesn’t twist its key in the first place, does any of this story take place? Whether that is the case or not, I spent most of the film hoping for Elijah Wood’s character of Ted to be killed!
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
There is something unbelievably disturbing about the opening narration to this film and I don’t just mean the fact that Lily quite clearly tells us that she won’t survive the events we are about to witness. Ruth Wilson (Lili) adopts such a soft tone of voice and the way she looks at the camera when she says “The pretty thing you are looking at is me” and even though she isn’t the antagonist of this film it sends a slight chill down my spine. That isn’t to say her character isn’t a little weird though. I love the way Osgood mirrors our introduction of Lily when he introduces the character of Polly, the ghost haunting the house where Lily works. The funny thing is, for me, that all of this film really has are a few creepy narrations. I guess some people would find it scary, possibly being triggered by the jump scare of the phone being ripped from Lily’s hand early in the film but not me. What is interesting however, is once we are introduced to the young Iris – the old lady Lily is caring for, it seems that she learnt the story of Polly’s death by speaking to her ghost! Lily’s death scene is intense, that is something I definitely cannot deny – especially considering she dies of pure fear!
February
Even though this film is also known as The Blackcoat’s Daughter, I feel that the title of February makes more sense, considering this is when the film is set and that I genuinely had to look up what a blackcoat was. This film follows three young woman, Kat, Rose and Joan, who are all clearly in the midst of a personal crisis. I have to admit, the switch in timeline is a little confusing as we suddenly jump from Kat looking through Rose’s things to Joan at a bus station. I get that it’s made clear why later in the film, but the sudden change took me out of the film a little, especially as it felt like Kat was about to do something creepy! It’s the way she looked at the hairbrush! It happens again as things intensify with Kat’s character. In all honesty, we didn’t need what turns out to be a future timeline. For me, simply focus on the storyline with Kat and Rose and the increasing disturbing behaviour – closing the film out with the looks on the policemen’s faces!
Gretel and Hansel
You know what I loved about this film, the fact that Perkins actually gives the audience a backstory to the witch in the fairy tale. At least that is what I believed at first, before I started to question that maybe the girl in the pink bonnet was actually Gretel herself as she mentions that she can see things, dreaming while she is awake. It seems I was right first time round. Gone is the gingerbread house or house of sweets as it is portrayed in many films and replaced by a normal house with a table laid out as if hosting a feast – luring the hungry Hansel and Gretel instead. I can understand why Perkins once described this as a coming-of-age story. Instead of there being a balance between the two characters like in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Gretel is the primary focus for this film and the audience watch as she is questioned about her virginity, thrown from her mother’s home becoming her brother’s sole care-giver, taking drugs for the first time in the form of mushrooms (accidentally of course) and getting her period. What’s interesting is that the audience don’t ever truly see Holda, the witch in our story, doing anything evil until right at the end. I guess in her eyes, she is doing something good – helping another witch embrace her powers.
Longlegs
So, for a film that I guess is technically more of a mystery than a horror, considering the crime angle, it is pretty damn disturbing in places. It even makes the lyrics to Get It On by T-Rex disturbing! Or maybe I just never realised what they were before. The antagonist, the titular Longlegs, is only a small role in the whole film but my god, is Nicholas Cage creepy! From his voice, to the speech pattern and the way he looks. And then there’s the singing, especially the happy birthday to Lee! It feels like that is how he hypnotises his victims – if that’s what he even does. I’ve seen this film twice now and I am still curious about Lee and possibility that she has some sort of psychic power. What’s clever about this film is that there are so many mundane scenes that when the more disturbing stuff hits it makes it that little bit more terrifying. The one thing I had forgotten about was the dolls! There’s almost an underlying story of voodoo – if you interpret it that way – that Osgood never really seems to explain. The one thing I will say, in terms of the accomplice to Longlegs – be prepared for a shock, and a messed-up ending… and I don’t mean Cage’s little kiss and wink to camera!
