One for them One for Me in October
Kia ora koutou
Quick update from me!
Much like Sir Mix-a-Lot, Spring is well and truly sprung. When the kōwhai start blooming and the clocks go forward one hour, that's a sign I have to pull the blinds and chuck on a bunch of scary movies (after I've touched grass, I'm not a sicko).
On Letterboxd, horror fans love to set themselves elaborate challenges for the month like Cinemonster's annual 'Hooptober'. For my own 31 Days of Horror viewing, I tend to just watch a bunch of stuff that I want to.
A year ago, at the beginning of my unemployment, I wrote a piece for my (then) Substack for every film I watched. This year, I'm probably not going to have the time to do that but if you want to watch along with me, this is what I'm planning:
This time around, I'm checking out more films from a director I want to see more from (Mario Bava), a franchise overdue for a re-evaluation (The Purge) and themes like serial killers, wolves, mass psychosis and New French Extremity. I might touch on some of these in future newsletters but don't expect anything as disciplined as 2024.
I just watched my first film for the month: Bava's Planet of the Vampires and it was pretty good! Even with some leaden pacing and acting, I loved looking at it. The Italian astronauts (lasagnauts???) are all wearing these leathery giallo outfits with quasi-fascist logos that make them look villainous although the film doesn't get as much mileage out of this as it could.
Then there's these big wide-shots of the planet covered in rolling fog with clear delineations between different parts of the frame and it's just stunning. There are so many narrative and aesthetic choices here that make it seem like it has to have been an inspiration on later sci-fi masterpieces like 2001 and Solaris and definitely Alien.
Unfortunately, the horror is continuing in the real world with our government ministers taking their cues from their most ghoulish international counterparts. As we've seen with Bukele in El Salvador, there's nothing more pathetic than sucking up to Trump but Luxon and co are giving it the good old kiwi try.
If you're in Te Whanganui-a-Tara this weekend, I'd strongly encourage you to come along to Steadfast for Palestine: Kia Manawanui / Sumud صمود. This Saturday, 4 October from 11am we're meeting at Pukeahu War Memorial before a hīkoi to Odlin's Plaza. It will mark 2 years of Israel’s escalated genocide against Palestine and we are demanding sanctions.
I know it feels like we've been marching forever but we owe it to the world to come along.
Ngā mihi nui
ur boy jc
P.S. If you haven't bought my book yet, treat yourself!
