Post Some Horror Films Like 'Get Out' and 'Us' w/ Social Commentary and Symbolism

[OJ Simpsom]

Nah I think you're pretty much 100% on point with all that.

Also, there was a lot written about how it's a metaphor for big city life dehumanizing people. The '78 version, anyway. The original (1956) focused more on era specific things like The Red Scare (paranoia over who was Communist sympathizers during the Cold War, etc.)

Anyway, if you got all that from "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers", you're gonna love "They Live". It's cheesy (in a good, 1980's sort of way) but fits what's going on right now so much it's scary.

Fred.

Good looking out breh. They Live is next on my watch list for tomorrow.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Night of the living dead

Tales from the hood lol
Candy man

Ha - came here to post this and it was the very first reply.

Dawn of the Dead belongs on here too.

The Babadook!!!!!!!!!

Best horror thriller I’ve seen past 5 years and that still stands true. Absolutely love film and every time I watch it I’m blown away by it.

And it’s on Netflix now. Peele actually had it on his list of films he made all the actors of US watch prior to filming

I really gotta see this one - everything I heard about it is good.

The Shining is essentially a film about America & Americana so to speak. The film deals with racism, sexism, classism, & the American family. We see the racist aspects of the film from how the cook is referred too, the building of the hotel on top of an Indian burial ground, & the blatant disrespect of Indian art the way Jack was throwing the ball against it. We see sexism in Jack being upset that Wendy won't let him discipline Danny the way he wants to & his disrespect for her. Classism is depicted with the tour guide's happiness at the Overlook hotel being built on an Indian burial ground and the fighting off of Indians as if it were worth it. In the long run, the atrocity was alright because look at what we built. The American family is touched on in several manners but you see the breaking down of it through Wendy not agreeing with Jack's parenting methods and the ultimate fighting away Danny & herself from Jack.

All of this shows that Jack is your quintessential white man. With everything geared towards him due to the systems in place, once change starts happening that question his authority or flat out take away his power, you see the violent backlash. Jack was calm in the beginning even if rude to his family, but when they start breaking away from him, and then a black man is coming to save them, you see the true nature of Jack, one that has always been there (the ending with the party photo), and will be there (everything that happen during the movie), and will go on in the future too.

You can find a deeper analysis here:
Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’: American Deterioration Through Americana | The Artifice

 

[shopthatwrecks]

skeleton key

Christine

Nightmare on elm street .. had they read Freddy his rights.. he would be locked up

 

[OJ Simpsom]

People Under the Stairs

Just finished watching this for the first time. Movie was on some Get Out/Home Alone shyt.
I'm taking L's for not renting these films at Blockbuster back in the day.

 

[Poetical Poltergeist]

The Blob

 

[hex]

Just finished watching this for the first time. Movie was on some Get Out/Home Alone shyt.
I'm taking L's for not renting these films at Blockbuster back in the day.

Random trivia time:

I don't know if you let the movie run a bit when the credits started, but the Redhead Kingpin song "Do The Right Thing" that plays at the end was originally meant for the Spike Lee movie. But he passed on it in favor of Public Enemy's "Fight The Power".

Fred.

 

[storyteller]

First one that came to mind was They Live. It's more action than horror but it's got clear symbolism and social commentary that I think resonates just as well today as then. Most of the good ones have been named. Rosemary's Baby and Dawn of the Dead are probably the most well known. Some others that I don't think I've seen

Await Further Instructions is recent and I liked it a lot (netflix definitely has it)
Hereditary with the motif in the title but a lot to it.
Drag me to Hell was one I didn't catch the allegory until I read about it.
PontyPool and language. (netflix used to have it but Idk any more).


Then there's one that I can't think of the name of. But it's where people who visit a website that says "do you want to see a ghost" and wind up cursed...it wasn't all that good, but it had an underlying theme to it (you might be able to tell from just that description).

 

[ShaDynasty]

The Babadook!!!!!!!!!

Best horror thriller I’ve seen past 5 years and that still stands true. Absolutely love film and every time I watch it I’m blown away by it.

And it’s on Netflix now. Peele actually had it on his list of films he made all the actors of US watch prior to filming

Found the list:

Dead Again

The Shining

The Babadook

It Follows

A Tale of Two Sisters

The Birds

Funny Games

Martyrs

Let the Right One In

The Sixth Sense

 

[ShaDynasty]

The Witch (2015) is a very creepy piece of Kubrick-esque social commentary that I was going to mention as well.

 

[nieman]

The Birds
Pyscho
Village of the Damned
Jaws
The Stuff
Purge films are obvious


Even though it's mostly action - RoboCop

 

[cac poster]

They Live

underrated

 

[cac poster]

Pretty much anything by George A Romero (the GOAT) - namely Dawn of the Dead, NOTLD, Martin, The Crazies and Bruiser. All laced with political subtext as its meant to be (simmering under the surface, not shoved down your throat)

He is also often credited as one of the first filmmakers in the genre to cast the black characters as the heroes of the stories - see: all of the Dead series, The Crazies

For social subtext in horror there is no greater.

 

[BlackDynamite310]

The skeleton key. Which is basically get out just with voodoo

 

[OJ Simpsom]

Gonna check out They Live tonight.

 

[FistofJustice]

Just finished watching this for the first time. Movie was on some Get Out/Home Alone shyt.
I'm taking L's for not renting these films at Blockbuster back in the day.

Glad you liked it. This movie really took me by surprise when I first watched it. An instant classic.

You may want to check out The Serpent and the Rainbow, which is also directed by Wes Craven and has a large black cast. I haven't seen it myself, so not sure if it's good or not.