I don't know about you, but I have certainly reached the dimension of remorse plenty of times in my life. Self-induced haircuts, drinking champagne, of all things, all night at a friend's birthday celebration, all those innocent people I murdered, my "I look cool in Hawaiian shirts" phase in middle school, that time I made a bucked teeth face for a driver's license photo because I thought it would be funny...I could go on and on forever. But lo, I reached the dimension that is diametrically opposed to remorse last night when I wrapped myself In Fabric, the 2018...experience from writer/director Peter Strickland, which garnered three votes and entered the 2020 list of your favorite horror movies at #297.
However, I did enter the dimension of shame when I noted (to myself only! I would never admit it publicly) that this was only my first time seeing it. Yes, my first time, despite the fact that I would kill and/or die for Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio and The Duke of Burgundy...despite the fact that all the way back in 2018 I was like "HOLY SHIT a new Strickland movie? About a cursed dress? I NEED TO SEE IT RIGHT NOW!" And despite the fact that when it got those votes in 2020 I said "HOLY SHIT why haven't I watched In Fabric yet even though a copy has been sitting on my shelf for like two years now?" I am going to blame the pandemic as the reason why it's taken me so long, even though there is no dimension where that makes sense. And I guess it doesn't really matter, does it, since I've now seen it and here we are, gathered together to talk about it. Rejoice!
If you've seen any Peter Strickland movies, than you might have an inkling of how In Fabric will tell the tale of a cursed dress. That is to say, it won't tell you much of anything concrete (nary an origin story to be found here). It will be absolutely sumptuous to behold, and during the proceedings you might say to yourself or anyone around you, "Man, I bet Peter Strickland's living space is so gorgeous and cool" because you just know it is. You may not be able to pinpoint where or when the movie is set, because even if a moment has you saying "Okay, this is the 70s," your tenuous grasp on reality will slip away just as quickly. I think The Duke of Burgundy is a great example of this uniquely Strickland phenomenon. He has a way of creating worlds that seem, I don't know, just slightly out of step with our own. It's his own kind of magic, and if you are on his wavelength--even if only for the two hours you spend in one of his stories--you are in for a spellbinding treat. Especially since you know that Strickland mainstay Fatma Mohamed will be in there somewhere, giving us sinister and hilarious, quietly stealing every scene she's in.
The simple of this...well, it's something of a fairy tale, isn't it?...is that recently-divorced bank teller Sheila (the always, always, always great Marianne Jean-Baptiste) buys a beautiful red dress at a vaguely Satanic department store, hoping to wow the blind date she found through Lonely Hearts personal ads. Sales clerk Miss Luckmoore (Mohamed) assures her that while the catalogue model Jill (The Duke of Burgundy's Sidse Babett Knudsen) was run over and killed while wearing the dress, it has been thoroughly cleaned--but has it been cleansed of its evil nature?
Honestly I would be 100% okay with Sidse Babett Knudsen running me over
I could go on, but I genuinely think that while it's not an experience for everyone, In Fabric is best if it's just, you know, experienced, and I'm glad I finally fucking got around to it. Besides that, I gotta go because I'm about to reach the dimension of lunch, hey-ooooo!
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Yesterday, after I left a post and read your response, I remembered how much more enjoyable it is to read a blog as a opposed to a social media thread parceled out in 280-word chunks and to read the responses of the author and other readers, which always seem more insightful and engaging than random rando social media responses.
I'm going to make a concerted effort to seek out blogs rather than get pushed to them via social media posts; right after this, I'm going to go check out Jason Adams's My New Plaid Pants. And so forth.
Maybe this post will encourage nice lurkers to share their thoughts on these awesome picks.
I love that, Steve! I still vastly prefer blogs all the way around, and there are a few that are still kickin these days and kickin quite terrifically. Jason over at MNPP is definitely one of em--he also writes occasionally (along with a few other people) for another one of my favorites, Nathaniel R's The Film Experience, which is mostly about movies in general (and awards and actresses) but definitely delves into horror on occasion. I also highly recommend a few other stellar stalwarts: Emily over at The Deadly Doll's House and Erich Kuersten's Kindertrauma and Bleeding Skull. I'm forgetting a whole bunch I'm sure, so hopefully folks will chime in on favorites. I'd love to get more people reading more writing!
OOOO. I only knew about Kindertrauma, so thanks for the blogroll! (REMEMBER BLOGROLLS?)
Yay so glad you finally saw it! The third act had to grow on me with a few watches, I didn't love it the first time I saw it either, but grown on me it has. But the first half is obviously the prime meat. FATMA FOREVERRRRRRRRR
I can't wait to dive into it again. I really dug the second half for sure but I was SO invested in the first half that it also really felt like a drop-off.
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