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Happy Halloween!
"I bid you welcome"
The nights are getting chilly
The trees are getting bare
Autumn is here, and it's a good time for some horror movies again!
This time, I brought to you 3 horror movies
From 3 different countries
These are horror movies many of you likely haven't heard of
But definitely worth your time
From the psychological torment of violence in Mexico
To the dehumanization of migrant workers in Singapore
And the side effect of a rapidly growing economy in India
These movies reflect on the collective fear of a society
Using the genre as a disguise to show us
The true darkness of the world
"You... How old?"
"Eighteen"
They are not only entertaining
But insightful
Without further ado
Let the show begin
[3 Horror Movies From 3 Countries]
[Chapter One]
First up, Tigers Are Not Afraid, from Mexico
This is a mash-up of crime thriller and supernatural horror
Some call it a crime horror
I call it a terror film
For it truly captures the essence of terror
Young Estrella is a girl living in a part of Mexico
Ravaged by organized violent crime
One day, her school shuts down indefinitely due to a shooting
And her mother disappeared without a trace
Young Estrella has nowhere to go
So she seeks help from a group of delinquents
The group is then hunted by a cartel for stealing a gun
All while terrifying visions of ghosts haunt Estrella
Tigers is one of the most beautiful horror movies I've ever seen
Not bombastic, but the subtle beauty is captivating
A beam of light shining on the fish pond
A mirror balances the left and right of the frame
The gentle lighting mesmerizes
The shades of gray add texture to the world
Every shot is masterfully crafted
But it doesn't just look good
Every shot also presents a cohesive atmosphere
Black ribbons and board-up windows
Make the world feel lived in yet abandoned
The sight of a piano on fire is surreal yet haunting
We see children playing at a crime scene
Violence is so normalized, everyone looks dangerous
And at the same time, you cease to feel danger
This incongruity permeates the entire film
You are presented with a hostile world
With no clear indication of what the danger is
Violence feels like the natural state of the world
This is where the horror comes into play
Throughout the film, Estrella is haunted by fearful visions
Trails of blood follow her home
Rows of corpses fill the hallway
Presenting the result of crimes as a supernatural horror
De-emphasized the physicalities
It instead focuses on the psychological
How crime affects one's mind
And I love it so much
We listen to children sharing fairytales to entertain each other
And their imaginations are tainted
"And now he walks around all the streets, angry and hungry"
When children fantasize about being an adult
They have no greater ambition than to live like a criminal
It's no secret that organized crime is a massive problem in Mexico
But it's one thing to know the stats
It's a whole other thing to truly feel what it feels like
To live in that kind of environment
And this film lets you feel it
To me, the scary scene is this one
You see these children abandon all their childish fantasy
"They are no wishes. They is nothing."
"There are no tigers"
They have to grow up on their own
To survive
To me, that's the essence of terror
The monster of this world doesn't drive you into insanity
It takes your innocence away
The whole world feels wrong
And that is more terrifying than any ghosts or monsters
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[Chapter Two]
Next up, The Maid, from Singapore
Ahh yes, look at that grungy image quality
That burnt-in subtitles
That's how you know you are in for some good sh#t
Suggested by one of our patrons on Patron (Thank you very much!)
The Maid is one of those Asian horror films from the 2000s
Similar to The Eye from Hong Kong
And Shutter from Thailand
It's the most conventional of today's recommendations
But that doesn't mean it doesn't have its own merit
Rosa is a Filipino maid
Who got hired by a Chinese family in Singapore
She arrives right around the time of the Chinese ghost festival
A time Chinese people believe the gates of hell are wide open
As a result, the maid is besieged by ghostly visions
"You cannot sit there"
"That fist row is reserved for ghost"
The horror elements are all based on Chinese folk customs
And as far as I can tell
They are the exact same thing I heard when I was a child
"You leave the ghost alone, they will leave you alone"
And since the film is told from the perspective
Of a migrant worker with no prior knowledge
This movie is perhaps the best entry
Into knowing Chinese religious customs
The film can be kind of slow, especially during act 2
But the horror is always great
Did you see that reflection?
The use of silence is effective
Sound effects like footsteps are often entirely missing
I'm not sure if it is intentional
But it works really well
Many of the scares are rooted in Chinese beliefs
Rosa's vision of a child holding some internal organs?
Based on the Buddhist myth of Preta
It's amazing how faithful this film is to Chinese folk religion
Which can also be a detriment
If you are familiar with Chinese beliefs
You can probably guess why Rosa was hired
Speaking of Rosa
Through her eyes, we also see the unfortunate circumstances
Of many Filipino domestic helpers
Globally, there are about 10 million overseas Filipinos
About a third are women working as domestic helpers
These women often have to work in exploitative environments
To support their families back home
While this film didn't go deep into the exploitation angle
There is still a strong sense of dehumanization
"You first come to Singapore, you don't know what kind of people are outside"
"They cheat you, you still don't know"
Rosa is constantly being objectified and infantilized
"If you are ever dissatisfied with your maid"
"Send her my way"
Filipino domestic helpers are often looked down upon
And thus, socially isolated
Rosa is always in a state of helplessness
This is the reality for many Filipino migrant workers
True to Chinese beliefs
The scariest thing isn't the ghost
Is the human heart
[Chapter Three]
Last but not least, Tumbadd, for India
This is a highly requested film by our Indian viewers
But don't let its Bollywood designation fools you into thinking
It's gonna be all songs and dances and a lot of fun
This movie is hardcore
Tumbbad tells the story of a man who grew up in poverty
Inside a cursed mansion
Fuelled by his desire for a better life
The man loots his ancestral home for gold
Despite knowing the treasure is cursed by the gods
This is a mythological folk horror film
Featuring elements like divine punishment
And the depiction of said punishment is ghastly
Without spoiling too much, here is one memorable moment
You see this f#cked up image of a tree growing out of a human body
With a beating heart hanging like a fruit
Narratively, it's close to classic allegories
Like the Greek myth of King Midas
But atmospherically, the vastness of Hindu mythology
Blesses this film with an otherworldly cosmic terror
The horror is beyond logic and reasoning
It reminds me of Junji Ito
Beyond the horror elements
The movie is just remarkably good looking
There's this extended sequence of visual storytelling
With no words to distract you
The atmosphere takes over
And it's oh so effective
But what captivates me the most is the theme: Greed
In the prologue, we see how the man used to live a harsh life
Until tragedy struck
And he had to leave the village with his mother
His mother only seeks peace
But the son wants to grab the cursed treasure before leaving
It's understandable why he'd desire wealth so much
After so much suffering
Is it really wrong to want a better life?
In the past two decades
The GDP of India skyrocketed
With greater wealth
More people have more chances to get rich
And if my anecdotal experience
In a certain neighboring country is any indication
Chances are, many people are now obsessively chasing after wealth
Haunted by their poverty stricken past
Tumbbad mirrors that mentality
It seems like the movie is saying
That all forms of materialistic desire are greed
Or that the *method* of obtaining wealth determines greed
Not the intention, nor the outcome
It's an interesting take
It makes me reexamine my own morality
In other words, Tumbbad makes you think
And that's one of the best things a movie can do
[Conclusion]
And those are the three horror movies from three different countries
I find it fascinating that horror, generally
Is the first genre to transcends the language barriers
I guess it doesn't matter where you go
Darkness is always around the corner
Still, even within the horror fandom
It's difficult to look beyond the usual Australia, Sweden, and France
This is why I deliberately choose movies from industries
That aren't known for their horror films
At least not in the English-speaking part of the world
So, hopefully, this video opens a few new doors for you
If you have other horror gems you wish to share
Leave a comment below!
I wish you all a spooky season