This Week in Film #02

Oct 15, 2025

It’s interesting how a random set of movies can feel connected. Last week’s movies were all over the place: comedy, horror, thriller, crime, mystery, conspiracy. This week ended up heavier than expected. Maybe it’s the Halloween season.

The Blob (1958)

Director: Irvin Yeaworth

Starring: Steven McQueen & Aneta Corsaut

The first thing I have to address is that The Blob stars Steve McQueen! What? I had no idea. It’s his first leading role, and he is credited as Steven McQueen.

Second, for some reason, I always thought The Blob was a cheeky horror film. Then I heard the intro song, and I was convinced this was going to be a horror/comedy, but no, the movie played itself straight. I was honestly surprised at how serious the movie took itself. I’m glad it did, because it made the movie better.

The scenes of the blob slowly oozing through some tiny gaps were suspenseful. I don’t think I was horrified, but the suspense was there. I was impressed with the special effects; stop motion, paintings as backgrounds, mixed with animations. I also liked The Blob itself.

The eeriest aspect of the blob is its color. When it first lands on Earth, it’s a clear slime. It isn’t until after it starts consuming people that it becomes red/pink. Its color comes from the people it has consumed. Their blood and flesh. Gross! I also like the texture of The Blob. Like hair gel and melted hard candy. The blob was not what I expected, but in a good way.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Director: George A. Romero

Starring: Duane Jones & Judith O’Dea

Zombies here were called ghouls, which actually makes more sense. I don’t know if any movie did this before, but this might be the one that established the trope of monsters surrounding a building and breaking in to kill those trapped inside. If this was the first, then that’s a cool concept to invent. It feels like this movie influenced much of the horror genre that came after it. From the concept of a zombie to the setting.

Spoiler!

The ending: The ragtag militia of townsfolk banded together to kill all the ghouls and approached the farmhouse. Ben, the last survivor, peeked through a window after surviving the night, only to be shot in his head. It was a gut-wrenching twist. A perfectly macabre ending.

Last thought: the characters in the movie were excellent and varied. The main character Ben was commanding but impatient, Barbara was in a state of shock, and maybe turning into a ghoul, Harry was a paranoid mess, Tom was naive but brave, Judy was the only blank slate, and Helen was a stoic and intelligent mother. All were memorable in their own way. Also, the scene of the ghouls eating flesh must have been an insane visual for the time. No other early horror film that I have seen is this visceral.

I have to watch Dawn of the Dead next week.

Godzilla (1954)

Director: Ishirō Honda

Starring: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Takashi Shimura, & Akihiko Onoda

I’ve seen Godzilla plenty of times growing up, but I always watched the American version with the character Steve Martin. So, I decided I should see the original Japanese version.

We all know it’s an allegory for nuclear weapons in walking form, so I won’t pretend it’s a major revelation, but I feel like it’s more evident in this version. For instance, I don’t believe I remember the scene of the mother holding her child while waiting for death being that bleak. The hospital scene also seemed more serious. It’s been a while since I saw the American version, so I can’t say what the differences are, but this version feels more grounded. I might not have been able to take a character named Steve Martin seriously back then—and probably still can’t.

I enjoyed it. It’s a giant atomic lizard guy in a suit that crushes cardboard buildings, so how can’t I? I think the suit helps the movie not feel as dated as more modern CGI films. Also, the ugliness of the original suit helps make Godzilla appear more monstrous.

I can’t finish this review without mentioning how funny and anime-esque it is that the weapon used to defeat Godzilla is called “The Oxygen Destroyer.” It’s so cheesy that it’s great.

On a complete tangent; Godzilla will always make me uncomfortable because of an incident that happened when I was a child. I must have been five or six. I remember being on the old burgundy 2 train in NYC with my father, carrying a large Godzilla toy. We boarded the train, and the car was packed with biker-looking guys. It could just be that I was a kid and barely remember, but I remember bikers. Although now that I think of it, bikers taking the train must’ve been terrible bikers.

My father didn’t like the energy, so he picked me up and opened the side door to change cars. We were in that bending section when the train bumped and shook. For the non–New Yorkers, the 2 train is an express train. It goes fast. My father lost his balance, and I almost went over the metal chains into the track. I vividly remember seeing the track race under me and the steel beams whizzing past my face before my father pulled me back.

I was scared at first, but then I noticed Godzilla’s tail was missing. The toy had a hollow tail that could pop on and off. I went from scared to angry. Well, I guess I was distraught enough that some random guy found Godzilla’s tail between the cars and brought it to me like one of those Olympic torch runners. I was happy but never hug a Godzilla toy; the spines hurt. Mind you, all of this happened while we were in motion. Complete 90s nonsense.

But yeah, Godzilla might have almost killed me, or he might have saved me. Which is on par for Godzilla.

Hereditary (2018)

Director: Ari Aster

Starring: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, & Gabriel Byrne

We all know Faust; the story of a man who sells his soul to the devil. A founding tragedy and horror of Western art. The thought of selling your soul for earthly wishes, only to not get them and be cheated in a long con, is horrifying, tragic, and slightly satisfying, because in our hearts we know Faust made an idiotic decision. He signed over his most valuable possession to a known con artist.

Hereditary presents a more horrifying premise: what if your soul had been sold to the devil, but it was your grandmother who signed the contract with your blood?

As much as I want to dislike this family, I can’t. They’ve been taken advantage of by an outside source. Instead of giving their bank account to a Nigerian prince, a hacker has gained access to their life savings and identity, destroying everything in their lives before they even have the slightest hint of what’s going on.

Out of everything, I think this is the true horror of the film. There are many Easter eggs tied to the occult and demonology, but at its heart it asks a terrifying question; one that makes me want to get an insurance policy on my soul.

Is that insurance the Eucharist? I hope it is, because Grandma is evil. So evil that she sold your soul to the devil and sacrificed the rest of the family to get you weak enough to accept the deal after she died. She’s not even going to get any of the rewards!

Summary: Grandma is a gas-lighter and a postmortem soul-seller… you’re screwed.

Chinatown (1974)

Director: Roman Polanski

Starring: Jack Nicholson & Faye Dunaway

This film might have the most realistic tone and plot I’ve ever seen. I grew up in NYC, Upper West Side and Harlem, so I’m familiar with true stories of crime and urban tragedy. Chinatown nails it.

Jack Nicholson is the protagonist, so of course he’s interesting. But for me, the scenes of him lurking around, spying, and searching for clues were satisfying in a relaxing sort of way. I don’t know why, but seeing Jack Nicholson be a paid creep felt natural.

The movie shines most in how it dims. It goes from a regular, well-crafted mystery to bleak reality. It’s hard to get into detail regarding a mystery plot without revealing spoilers, and I really want you to go watch this film, so I won’t spoil the plot. But what makes this movie feel great to me is the message I got from it. Sometimes the innocent are left to weep while the despicable swim in their rewards.

“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”

The closing line is memorable but eerie in its realism, especially if you’ve lived in a big city. I remember when I was in high school, there was a guy named Steve who worked with the YMCA. He was cool, but he was originally from California. I don’t remember where, but I don’t think it was in a city. He led a program for teens that I was part of.

One day he came into the program room and mentioned something that was bothering him, and I guess he wanted to see if it was normal for us. He told us there had been a crime scene the other day, and when he asked one of the officers what happened, the officer shrugged and casually replied, “Someone was murdered.”

Steve was horrified by the nonchalance. He wanted to gauge our reaction. We shrugged as well, saying, “So? It happens all the time.”

I guess if you watch this movie, you’ll find out if you’re Steve or that officer. Either way, you’ll wonder if it’s your naivety or your jadedness that’s the problem.

Taxi Driver (1976)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro & Jodie Foster

Taxi Driver, a film about wanting to kill the bad guys, except the guy deciding who the bad guys are is a sleep-deprived taxi driver who doesn’t socialize enough to know basic social norms.

Everything about this movie was perfect for the character, except the ending. I’ll rage about the ending in a moment.

Travis, played by De Niro, is a weirdo. He claims he doesn’t like people, but I think he’s coping with the fact that he does things that are ridiculous and make people uncomfortable, then doesn’t have the presence of mind to realize his actions are what make them pull away.

It’s done well. Travis desperately needs someone in his life to tell him he’s being odd; that he isn’t as cool as he thinks he is. But he doesn’t have a friend like that. And that’s his fault.

I could speak on his arc and the implications on society, but I won’t. Because I’m upset. The perfect ending for this movie was there… and they killed it!

SPOILER

Travis is dying on a couch in a pimp’s home, a street escort crying nearby as he puts a bloody finger to his head and mimics a gun firing at himself, then leans back and dies. PERFECT. What’s not perfect is what comes after. A happy ending. He saves the day, isn’t arrested for going on a murder spree, the woman he weirded out by taking to an adult movie theater talks to him again, and the escort is back with her family, sending Travis a letter calling him a hero.

The scene doesn’t even read like a dream. It feels tagged on. I don’t look much into behind-the-scenes stories, but this feels like studio executives couldn’t handle the dark, proper ending and made Scorsese stitch together a happy one.

It’s like the opposite perspective of Chinatown. Here the main character is the villain who gets away with attempted terrorism and mass murder.

Great movie, but if I ever see it again, I’m stopping the film after the bloody-hands scene.

Bullet in the Head (1990)

Director: John Woo

Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee, & Simon Yam

This was my first film by director John Woo. His film’s scope surpassed my expectations. What I expected was a cool action movie with some martial arts. What I got was a story of three childhood friends, whose loyalty for each other leads to their downfall as they are thrust deep into the smuggling underworld: assassins, murder, riots, The Vietnam War, betrayal, and revenge.

It was done well, but some scenes dragged on a bit long. I’m not sure if that makes the scenes more realistic, by keeping us watching these uncomfortable scenes longer than I would like or if its bordering on melodrama.

I have to also add that the assassin was one of the smoothest assassins I’ve seen. He was a half-Chinese half-French assassin using cigars to barter for weapons but also had sticks of dynamite disguised as cigars in his jacket pocket. It was a suave visual.

What I liked the most about the movie was how it portrayed warring factions. You would have scenes where a faction would do something despicable, then, in another scene, save the day. For example, the Western forces in Vietnam were at first shown subjugating the local population. A terrorist bombs a police car and seems justified. The Western military shoots up a jewelry store and pillage it. Then the protagonists are saved by a Vietcong attack, when they are caught in the middle of a battle, only for them to be taken prisoner by the Vietcong. As prisoners they are subjected to heinous acts of violence. The Americans show up guns blazing to free the prisoners of the camp but leave soon after.

Cool movie, but more intense than expected. This isn’t a chill Sunday morning action flick. It turns friendship into an emotional real-world horror story of moral decay.

Closing Reflection

What can a group of random movies from a watchlist possibly have in common?

I’m not sure if it’s synchronicity or just my mind making unnecessary connections, but I did find a theme in this week’s viewing: Loss and Corruption

The Blob – An alien lands in a small town and devours its residents. The bodies are dissolved, denying any family a body to bury. The blob itself is corrupted, as it evolves from a clear bit of slime into a giant mass of digested flesh.

Night of the Living Dead – People lose their humanity as the bodies of fellow citizens are corrupted into brainless cannibals.

Godzilla – A water deity becomes a force of unnatural disaster as people lose the very city they live in.

Hereditary – Grandma sets up her family to be corrupted by tragedy until one becomes an empty vessel for a demon king. Grandma’s got your soul.

Chinatown – The entire system is corrupt, and innocence is lost.

Taxi Driver – The hero archetype is corrupted. A good ending is lost.

Bullet in the Head – Humanity collapses under the corruption of society and government. Friendship is torn apart.

That was my week in film.

Have you seen any of these movies? If so, do you agree or disagree with my takes?

This Week in Film #03
I will dive further in horror. It is October after all.