MixedFormula

Look at the world. Don't you wish that it would be a calmer place? A place where you could be safe, valued and content. A place without wars, selfishness, greed and deceit.

Wouldn't that require single mindedness, though?

Wouldn't it require everyone to be the same not on the superficial level, but deep down inside?

Carol doesn't have that wish. Carol embraces the humanity with all its sins, especially the original one: knowing right from wrong, being free to choose either.

Clearly, Carol is not perfect. But she has a point.

Having said that, "they" also have a point. And from where they are sitting, Carol is an agent of chaos. And to be fair to them, I would try to do something about Carol, too. She's so hot on her own freedom and autonomy, that she's happy to violate other people's bodily autonomy.

Is Carol the snake in the paradise? Or is Zosia just a happy zombie? Which world would I rather live in?

I love this show for making me think about these things. But then I am not addicted to shows with relentless crash, bang and wallop, so maybe I am missing something that low reviewers are acutely aware of.

Edit: it's wild how Marmitey this show is but I'm baffled by the barrage of negative reviews. Baffled by reviewers who " can't watch the show because the main character is unlikeable/ugly". I'm beginning to suspect it's from the same people who thought Walter White was someone to admire.

Let me start by saying that this review is written from the perspective of someone interested in the remake rather than the horror. I don't like horrors, I don't watch horrors, I have nothing to say about how this film fits into the modern horror genre so I accept that for this reason it is a limited perspective on the film.

Having said that, I was surprised how little this film made me feel fear. It made me uncomfortable in many places and I failed to anticipate one jump scare but otherwise, for a person who is very sensitive to watching pain, suffering and gore, I was not being subjected to fear. I was watching other people's fear, dread and suffering and I was sitting there wondering if I believed it.

There is no question that this film is really well produced. It's not monochrome, it's silver. It's incredible how silver it looks. The casing is good. The acting is good. The effects are impressive. So it is really a shame that the story leaves you cold.

I think one of the problems is that it doesn't seem to have anything to say to a modern audience. After decades of popular psychology, after the horrors of modern history, in the midst of the current political dread, this film isn't connecting with me with anything urgent, relevant or cathartic to say about the experience of a personal, historical or political trauma that wasn't said in the original. Maybe there is a message but it's hiding too deep under the Victorian theme park costume and archaic language ("Untie this child!").

Theoretically there is one theme which should make me excited because it's right up my street, and that is the question of consent, its remits and its limits. I can see it, I can engage with it on a logical level, but I'm not excited to do that. I can't even figure out why that is the case. And that is where, in my view, lies the biggest weakness of this remake. What was its purpose? Why did it need to be made? People who have never seen the original, who are not interested in old black and white films or in history of the cinema are not going to appreciate its relationship to the original or to the period. If I wasn't scared, I doubt people who like horrors were scared. So who was this film for? New generation? To tell them what? Because the consent message is just too subtle for the demographic who analytically can't deal with antiheroes, even if it's Walter White, or with straight up villains even if it's Homelander.

Kudos for allowing cats to finally break onto the big Hollywood screen. Can't wait to see them on the red carpet :)