I just want to get it out there right now that it was announced this week that Riverdale are doing a musical episode based on the Carrie stage adaptation, and frankly, if the producers are just going to straight lift ideas from my blog I at least deserve some credit. I see you, Riverdale. I see you seeing me.
When you start with a bang, there always has to be a drop-off. And I think the second episode of this season of American Crime Story, Manhunt, is the perfect example of that.
The OJ season benefited greatly from the fact that, straight after the murders, you had OJ attempting to flee arrest in one of the more action-driven sequences of that whole seasons run. But this season, which starts from the murder and then leaps back to fill in the gaps, was always going to suffer after the big, bold, broad and often brilliant first episode.
That mirror
Can test each mortal when unaware;
Yea, that strange mirror
May catch his last thoughts, whole life foul or fair,
Reflecting it—where?
– Moments of Vision, Thomas Hardy
Oh, fucking hell.
The Oscars 2017, or, That Armie Hammer Snub
I’m attempting to keep to something remotely close to a schedule with these recaps, so we’re back this week with another delve into Carrie! Thanks to all the brilliant people who’ve been keeping up with this so far, and if this is your first time at the rodeo, you can catch up on the last recap here! And, just on the off-chance that you’re interested in other horror-related writing, I wrote a piece on the future of found footage earlier this week that might be of interest to you.
Some might say I’ve taken on too many shows to recap this year. Those people would be right, but they would also be fuckheads about it so let’s ignore them.
If you’ve been following my other recaps (currently, I’m recapping Vikings, American Crime Story, and the novel version of Carrie as well as doing a series of secret TV recaps you can access by supporting me on Patreon), you’ll know that, in the last few weeks, one of my favourite shows has taken a major turn for the worst. Vikings, which used to be my precious baby show that I recommended to everyone while basically bellowing the praises of, has turned into a steaming mire of boredom, sex, and contrived rape plots in the last month or so, and it’s a damn shame to be so let down with a show. And I think in some ways, Riverdale has benefited from the fact that one of the shows I write about week to week is so fucking boring.
Vikings – and I mean this in the most passionate, serious way I possibly can – can fuck off. I can’t believe that a show that I was so optimistic about until a mere five episodes ago is now one of the biggest nightmares of my week. Let’s get this over and done with as quickly as possible so I can move on to less painful things like getting blood-eagled.
So, you know that I’m clinically incapable of saying no to a Ryan Murphy show. I watched Glee. I watched The Glee Project. I watched Nip/Tuck. I watched Scream Queens. I watched so much American Horror Story – God, so much American Horror Story. And I have been disappointing and delighted by each and every one, in various percentages. But every time a new one comes along, no matter how bad that last one might have been, I have to dive into it, whether I like it or not: I have a perfect run so far, and I’m not going to ruin that now. Even if it means sitting through another season of AHS, God help my immortal soul.
The found footage genre is always one that has appealed to me so much as a horror fan. There’s an immediacy to it, a purported direct access to this moment and this person and this fear, that appeals to me: The Blair Witch Project is still up there with my favorite movies of all time, but the finest examples of the genre span everything from Ghostwatch to Grave Encounters to to Cloverfield to Baghead to Paranormal Activity to The Visit with dozens upon dozens of movies in between. It’s a genre that attempts to capture something that’s closer to reality than most horror films, and something about that, about the slow picking apart of the real world into some nightmare vision determined to keep me up at night in cold sweats, works.
That’s right, my esteemed blog series has returned: you might be here for the nuanced breakdowns of Stephen King or the in-depth analysis of Vikings, but if you’re really truthful with yourself you hang around this blog waiting to hear about which TV characters I would most like to get into a shoving match with outside a pub in the early evening on a Saturday night in my hometown. To the list!
The Cutprice Guignol 