stephringpops

I went into Eddington blind, and that made it so much worse, in the best way. What started as a slow "wait...what's going on?" turned into full body dread that clung to me. Not jumpy scary but existential scary. The acting across the board is phenomenal. Every performance is so raw. The leads are magnetic, but even the minor characters leave a mark. Aster's direction is as precise and twisted as ever, but there's a maturity here, less chaos, more control. He doesn't rush the tension, he lets it rot and fester. You're not just watching this film, you're enduring it, and somehow still wanting more. It's not for the faint of heart or short of patience, but if you're willing to sit in the dark with your discomfort, this is beautiful, brutal, and totally unforgettable.

I've been trying to finish We're All Going to the World's Fair for over a year now. Every time I hit play, I'd either get bored or just knock out completely. I finally forced myself to sit through the whole thing, Still not worth it. I love found footage horror, when it's done well, it can be immersive and chilling. But this felt more like a moody art school project than a horror film. The pacing is painfully slow, the tension never really builds, and by the time it ends, you're just sitting there like that's it? There's an interesting idea somewhere in here about online identity and isolation, but it gets buried under long shots of nothing and vague weirdness that never really pays off. Compared to other found footage standouts like The Host or Paranormal Activity, this one just drags. (Even though it's not fully found footage) More atmosphere than actual substance. Cool title, though.

Just watched The Ugly Stepsister on Shudder and honestly... it was weird as hell, but in the best way. It's like if Cinderella got shoved into a blender with body horror, toxic obsession, and a little sad girl delusion. The story centers around Elvira, the so-called "ugly" stepsister, who's completely obsessed with falling in love and reading what I'm definitely calling smut, like, she's fully spiraling into fantasy land and you can feel it. Things get real messy, real fast. There's disturbing stuff like DIY surgeries, brutal transformation scenes, and this constant underlying desperation to be seen, to be wanted, to be loved. It's gross, dark, sometimes even funny in a messed up way, but also kind of tragic. There were moments that genuinely made me uncomfortable. But I couldn't look away. (Except I had to look away during the eye body modification part.) It's definitely not your typical fairy tale. It leans hard into the grotesque, but it also says something about beauty standards and the pressure to become someone else just to feel worthy. I loved how unhinged it was. If you're into offbeat horror with a fairytale twist and you don't mind things getting a little freaky, this one's totally worth a watch.