Horror in Non Traditional Horror Movies

I like scary movies. Let me qualify that, I like GOOD scary movies. When comparing the list of scary movies to good scary movies, one is vastly larger than the other. As such, I have learned to find and appreciate scary moments in movies that don't necessarily fall within the traditional realm of scary. A few examples of what, to me, are truly scary moments in movies: the Raptors in the kitchen in Jurassic Park; the silent, perfectly calm sea immediately following the first attack in the opening of Jaws; the spirits that come out of the Ark of the Covenant at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark; the various clown nightmares from Pee Wee's Big Adventure; the neighbors digging in the rain at night from The Burbs; the list goes on and on. I recently found a new scene to add to the list.

I love the Toho Godzilla movies. They are often times campy, have bad special effects, and weird plots, but I love them. They are good movie fun. I was recently re-watching Godzilla 2000 for the first time since it's release in 1999, and amidst all the fun monster action there was a truly chilling scene. Early on in the movie Godzilla attacks a small (compared to Tokyo) city. During the attack a man, his daughter, (both of whom head up the Godzilla Prediction Network) and a reporter are looking for Godzilla. Naturally, they find him and frantically drive away screaming. What follows is a typical Toho Godzilla smash up buildings scene. It's fun. Cut to our protagonists driving away. It is a backward tracking shot in front of the car, the night is mostly peaceful as they drive. The scenery behind them is mostly calm, obviously destruction is happening as you can see the glow of distant fire. The road takes a gradually turn, which brings Godzilla into the frame; a long way off, but still heading in their general direction, smashing up shop along the way. He's not chasing them, he doesn't even know they exist, he's just heading in the same direction. The unexpected feeling of dread that came over me is what has cemented this scene's position on my list of scary movie moments. Godzilla is a force of nature, or an act of God that the protagonists are completely helpless against. You can't hide from a tsunami, you can't punch a hurricane, the only thing you can do is try to get to safety and let the force complete its path. It reminded me of the feeling of evacuating during Harvey.

Modern Depictions of Feminism

SPOILER WARNING FOR AVENGERS ENDGAME.

I will not be so bold as to say that there have never been strong female role models in movies historically. Two examples are Ripley and Sara Conner. The fact that I can only immediately pull two from the top of my mind goes to show that there is a vastly unrepresented portion of the audience.

Over the weekend, (like everyone else in the world, if box office numbers are accurate) I went and saw Endgame. I enjoy the Marvel movies, but I'm a pretty casual fan. I've always leaned more towards the darker and more serious comic book content. I love DC, Vertigo (I know it's a redundant distinction), Dark Horse, and the various works of Alan Moore. I'm glad I live in a world in which the Marvel movies are popular and attract a greater fan base. A raising tide lifts all ships, as it were.

As I was saying, although I've seen most of the Marvel movies (I think the only one I have missed at this point is Captain Marvel), I have no investment in them. They're fun and entertaining, but that's about it for me. Going in to Endgame I was aware that Robert Downy Jr gets a paycheck every movie somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 million, and given that expense, he probably wasn't going to make it out alive. The same sensibility went for Christ Evans and Chris Hemsworth. All of the original avengers are too expensive to keep around. So I wasn't surprised when Tony made the ultimate sacrifice, or when Cap was proactively aged out of the picture. Surprise surprise, Thor might be sticking around. With all these big character changes and deaths, I've been seeing a lot of social media posts about fanboys crying in the theater. Was I moved to tears by the dramatic conclusions on the screen? No. Was I moved to tears by other things? Yes. (Teared up would be a better description).

The theater I was in had a capacity of about 256, and by my observation I would say one third of the audience was female. Towards the end of the movie there is a moment where Peter Parker's Spiderman is trying to run the Infinity Gauntlet as far away from Thanos as he can. Ultimately he is unable to do it, this is when Captain Marvel steps up and says to give it to her. As she and Peter look out over the giant army of faceless cgi monsters coming at them Peter asks her how she's going to get through all those guys alone. Off camera you here a voice say "she's not alone." Enter, in what initially struck me as a pandering hamfisted glory shot, of every female hero. The lady from Black Panther, Valkery, Nebula, Gamora, Mantis, Captain Marvel, for some reason Pepper Potts in an Iron Man suit, and maybe some others I honestly can't remember who else there could have been there. What followed was one third of the audience, 86 girls, women, and ladies, who up until now have been grossly underserved in these super hero movies where so often the day is consistently saved by a man, screaming their heads off as every surviving female marvel character fought back and turned the tide of the battle with out the help of a man. Hearing the joy and appreciation and pride in their screams made me realize in that moment, how special that scene was, and I glassed up.

I'm glad I saw the movie with an audience, allowing me to experience that very special moment.