This is a surprisingly complex film, despite the general reception. #Horror is a parody about the nature of shock-value cinema and the coded morality therein. Movies about the dangers of the internet and in particular, social media have been fairly prevalent in the last few years. And the "Lifetime"-ish nature of those films often takes away from what would otherwise be potentially valuable subject matter. And, in this ironic exploitation is where #Horror finds tremendous parody.
The camera work feels very purposeful throughout this film, even as it spirals ever closer to the Lifetime narrative it is parodying. A giant portrait of Marilyn Monroe with egg on her face. The idea of slasher cinema as a way to demean beautiful women. No, #Horror has more to it, indeed.
---Spoilers Below---
#Horror functions by bashing us over the head with all too familiar tropes, only to juxtapose them in a way that makes the audience question our own morality. Time and again we are shown uncomfortable and voyeuristic images. The general draw of the "scream queen" and the inherent violent sexuality that is tied to that trope is interestingly dissected. First, by using girls so young as the victims. And then, by giving us images that are over-sexualized. Like, when we watch the girls playing dress up. In no way does the film cross any genuine lines, but it feels very voyeuristic and quite unnerving to be watching them in such a visceral and intimate fashion. Then, at the same time, they are dressed like fashion models posing for the camera. Seconds later, they are all in mink coats. As if to say, "it's okay to kill these rich girls, see they're mean and entitled, they have it coming."
Another interesting trope is the "surviving virgin". Our main character who does survive this entire incident explicitly states she isn't a virgin. We can assume this is related to the trauma from her previous school. When she reveals she isn't a virgin, she is the only character outside of the red light filter. A double meaning, one about fertility and another being foreshadowing.
Violence is given a backseat, even though it's promoted as the main feature. We don't often actually watch anyone die. Instead, we are given insinuation. A comment on the nature of violence against women in horror movies. We are meant to left "unfulfilled" and in doing so, question our own morality. The own death we do see for an extended period is pretty brutal. A girl screams in agony for help in a glass tennis court. Again, the audience is judged for our voyeurism. We want to watch this girl die, but morally, we want to save her. We can't because she is stuck behind the glass.
Cyber-bulling, the main issue this movie focuses on. From what I've seen, most people seem to view this movie as having an "anti-cyber bullying" message. But, I would disagree. The cyber bullying is there to be parodied. This is commenting on thing like "Cyberbully" and "Megan is Missing" and the fear-driven campaigns behind those kind of stories. Many things claim to be moral, but in fact are exploiting an actual issue. This is why #Horror repeatedly feels so exploitative, it's meant to. We're supposed to reflect on the nature of shock cinema. And how, when the message is demeaned by poor writing, we are often just left with a story that ends up demeaning women.
This all comes to a head as Sevigny and Hutton's acting gets perpetually worse and more insanely maniacal or totally withdrawn. These characters have become a caricature by the ending. Which is meant to be totally melodramatic and predictable, just like the movies it's parodying.
#Horror is not a perfect movie. And for many people, I would say, the parody is far too subtle. It's disjointed and the second act into third act lost me for a while. But, it succeeds undoubtedly in commenting on the nature of women within the horror genre and morality within cinema.
The camera work feels very purposeful throughout this film, even as it spirals ever closer to the Lifetime narrative it is parodying. A giant portrait of Marilyn Monroe with egg on her face. The idea of slasher cinema as a way to demean beautiful women. No, #Horror has more to it, indeed.
---Spoilers Below---
#Horror functions by bashing us over the head with all too familiar tropes, only to juxtapose them in a way that makes the audience question our own morality. Time and again we are shown uncomfortable and voyeuristic images. The general draw of the "scream queen" and the inherent violent sexuality that is tied to that trope is interestingly dissected. First, by using girls so young as the victims. And then, by giving us images that are over-sexualized. Like, when we watch the girls playing dress up. In no way does the film cross any genuine lines, but it feels very voyeuristic and quite unnerving to be watching them in such a visceral and intimate fashion. Then, at the same time, they are dressed like fashion models posing for the camera. Seconds later, they are all in mink coats. As if to say, "it's okay to kill these rich girls, see they're mean and entitled, they have it coming."
Another interesting trope is the "surviving virgin". Our main character who does survive this entire incident explicitly states she isn't a virgin. We can assume this is related to the trauma from her previous school. When she reveals she isn't a virgin, she is the only character outside of the red light filter. A double meaning, one about fertility and another being foreshadowing.
Violence is given a backseat, even though it's promoted as the main feature. We don't often actually watch anyone die. Instead, we are given insinuation. A comment on the nature of violence against women in horror movies. We are meant to left "unfulfilled" and in doing so, question our own morality. The own death we do see for an extended period is pretty brutal. A girl screams in agony for help in a glass tennis court. Again, the audience is judged for our voyeurism. We want to watch this girl die, but morally, we want to save her. We can't because she is stuck behind the glass.
Cyber-bulling, the main issue this movie focuses on. From what I've seen, most people seem to view this movie as having an "anti-cyber bullying" message. But, I would disagree. The cyber bullying is there to be parodied. This is commenting on thing like "Cyberbully" and "Megan is Missing" and the fear-driven campaigns behind those kind of stories. Many things claim to be moral, but in fact are exploiting an actual issue. This is why #Horror repeatedly feels so exploitative, it's meant to. We're supposed to reflect on the nature of shock cinema. And how, when the message is demeaned by poor writing, we are often just left with a story that ends up demeaning women.
This all comes to a head as Sevigny and Hutton's acting gets perpetually worse and more insanely maniacal or totally withdrawn. These characters have become a caricature by the ending. Which is meant to be totally melodramatic and predictable, just like the movies it's parodying.
#Horror is not a perfect movie. And for many people, I would say, the parody is far too subtle. It's disjointed and the second act into third act lost me for a while. But, it succeeds undoubtedly in commenting on the nature of women within the horror genre and morality within cinema.