Reviews and articles from Esther Rosenfield
A little while ago I wrote about Gore Verbinski’s The Ring and why it was one of the few films I’ve ever seen to have genuinely scared me. Having now seen E. Elias Merhige’s Begotten, I can add another entry to that short list. It’s no secret why: Begotten was a clear influence on the … Continue reading Patron Request: ‘Begotten’
Having found most of his TV work rather uninspiring, I was surprised by how impressed I was with Neil Marshall’s The Descent. While I don’t think it’s a great film, there’s more of interest here than in his episodes of Game of Thrones or even the more directly comparable Hannibal. The setup is familiar: A … Continue reading Patron Request: ‘The Descent’
This piece was based on a film suggestion by one of my subscribers on Patreon. For $3 a month you can submit a film for me to write about. Check out the link if you’re interested! Lee Chang-dong’s Burning is really two films, or it might be more accurate to say that it consists of … Continue reading Patron Request: ‘Burning’
The film The End of Evangelion doesn’t open with the normal logo of production house Studio Gainax. Their typically unremarkable, austere card is replaced by the studio’s name briefly appearing in a lower corner of the screen, scratchy and erratically vibrating. Most people won’t think anything of this change (especially not considering the film that … Continue reading ‘The End of Evangelion’ and Stan Brakhage
Tarsem fascinates me. He’s a contradiction in terms — Schrodinger’s Filmmaker. At once quite talented and obscenely hacky, his films are as full of breathtaking imagery as they are insipid storytelling. His second feature, The Fall, is about storytelling, and he still can’t come up with a story worth telling. The Fall is a film built for … Continue reading Ko-Fi Request: ‘The Fall’
Kenneth Anger was so far ahead of his time. He was the original “feeling sad n horny 2day :/” poster. But since he was born in the 1920s, he had to resort to making massively influential experimental films instead. It’s such a shame. Think of the tweets we missed out on. In all seriousness, Scorpio Rising … Continue reading Ko-Fi Request: ‘Scorpio Rising’
Us is Jordan Peele’s second feature film as a director, but you don’t need me to tell you that. You just need to watch it. It bears all the hallmarks of Sophomore Entry-itis. This is a film from a man who so desperately wants to do something different from his breakout debut that he ends … Continue reading ‘Us’ Review
F for Fake is a lot of things: A sort-of documentary, a complete and total fiction, a passion-fueled ramble, a legendary prank, a formal experiment, a tribute to liars and fakers, an ode to Oja Kodar’s ass, and most of all, the sort of one-sided conversation you don’t mind being on the receiving end of. … Continue reading Ko-Fi Request: ‘F for Fake’
The thing no one will say about Miller’s Crossing is that that hat really does not work on Gabriel Byrne’s Tom Reagan. It doesn’t sit quite right on his head. This hat, a visual and at times narrative focal point of the film, lays awkwardly askew. It’s always on the verge of being blown right … Continue reading Ko-Fi Request: ‘Miller’s Crossing’
I’ve tried several ways of saying it and they all sounded mealy-mouthed, so I’ll just be blunt: Horror movies almost never scare me. Time and again I’m been promised something truly terrifying, from Hereditary to The Witch to The Babadook, and time and again I walk away feeling distinctly unmoved. Even if I like the … Continue reading The Analog Terror of ‘The Ring’
