I’m a movie fan. I belong to AMC movie club and am a member of Film Forum. Watching movies is one of my favorite hobbies- I go to at least one movie a week, often new releases, though I love catching an oldie that I’ve never seen, or I loved so much I want to see it again.

Movies. Great entertainment.

However, movies are really not just entertainment. Movies also show the social climate of when they were produced. You can learn a lot about a time period by watching film.

Presently, we are having a real go of thriller/horror movies. I admit that this is not normally my go to genre, but some of the new ones are really good. They sort of thrill you on the visceral scale- you scream or shut your eyes, but they also hit on the intellectual. Once you open your eyes and get past the horror, you really start to think. Think about social issues and moral issues and how we live our lives in the 21st century.

I think this era started with Get Out. Have you seen it? If you haven’t, you should. Jordan Peele does a masterful job in this seemingly average movie about an average family meeting their daughter’s boyfriend. Spoiler alert: there is nothing average about these people. This movie scares you, but really makes you think and question. Isn’t that what true art is supposed to do? Think and question?

Here’s some recent thrillers that I think are spot on for combining entertainment and thought:

  1. The Menu
  2. M3GAN
  3. Vengeance
  4. The Batman
  5. Barbarian
  6. Emily the Criminal
  7. Bodies Bodies Bodies
  8. Triangle of Sadness

While these can be considered satires, that doesn’t take away from the underlying message that each of these films is trying to show. They do a really good job of showing hypocrisy, cancel culture, the problems with tech and social media, and the overall climate that the world faces today.

I’m interested to see where movies go from here- which direction they will take in trying to get people to wake up and think. I think this could be a really good era for the thriller and movie making in general.

Have you seen any of these movies?

Do you consider film to be art?

Do you think movies should make us think about the underlying issues that we face every day, or that exist around us?

Discuss

48 thoughts on “Thrills and Chills”

  1. Yes film is absolutely art. Every aspect of film from the script, three dimensional characters, scenery, music, dialogue, language, lighting, wardrobe. Etc. Most film makers combine their visionary ideas with the writers and the rest of the production staff. The editors then collaborate with the director and try to pull together the best images showing the author’s vision and intent with his/her own visual interpretation.

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    1. I never watched them till last year. I’m impressed with the thought that goes into them. FYI- I don’t watch Stephen King, or read, no matter how great because he freaks me out

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  4. Yes, film is art and art is a reflection of the times.
    I don’t go to the movies often because I have a talent of picking a seat directly in front of people who never shut up. So I’ll wait and watch on tv. I do prefer the old black and whites and I feel that 1939 was a golden year for movies that we will never see again.
    I saw The Menu. It was OK at best. Maybe just mot my taste. I can’t think of any films I would like to see now. So back to my original point…film is art, but mot all art is good. Not all art pleases everyone and even the word, art, is very broad.
    Gone With the Wind – Art
    Plan 9 From Outer Space – ?

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    1. I liked the social satire of the menu…rich vs poor. Blue collar vs white collar. How willing to follow someone. What matters. While not a great movie I found it above average

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  5. I’m with you about ‘Get Out’…it was stealth and sneaky, lured me in…and then! 😯 Thanks for the list, LA — I’m curious about Megan but find I need to sweet talk the hubster into viewing any scary/spooky flicks by sharing ‘I heard it’s a great story – not just guts and gore’. Isn’t the “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” the new Pete Davidson film? I need to catch up! 😉😎😉

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    1. The m3gan storyline is really solid. There’s a good plot and everything makes sense. And bodies is one part teen slasher and 2 parts social commentary with certain parts that are brilliant. Ok one part but I’m trying to not give anything away

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  6. I’ve seen Emily and most recently The Menu. When I watch movies like these I start psychoanalyzing myself… “what WOULD I do in the same situation?” so yes they make me think about myself but also about the mind of the writer who can take a social issue and tweak it to reveal something darker.

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    1. Exactly!! That the brilliance underlying these films. How do people act? What is the socioeconomic climate and how does it affect our emotions, mental state, and how will it really make us do think feel

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  9. Saw Menu over the weekend. I have to admit I walked into it blind – I thought it was a satire. Can you imagine my surprise. I enjoyed the Queen’s Gambit series so I was looking forward to Anya Taylor-Joy performance.

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  10. Movies are definitely an art form, I just don’t see many of them. I do have Everything Everywhere All at Once from the library , and I got on the waiting list for Tár this morning, so I’ll be seeing more movies this year than last.

    Horror has never really been my thing, movie-wise, unless it’s Gothic horror. What’s gotten me into horror in the past year are the abundance of audiodramas that are out there, like The Magnus Archives or The Cellar Letters. For whatever reason, I find them more engaging than horror movies.

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    1. I’m not a horror thriller fan…but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I’m looking forward to hearing what you think of everything and tar.

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  13. So, literally, I was sitting in the cinema a good while ago, watching previews, and this one particular preview started. I looked over at my wife and said “NOPE!”.

    The preview continued, and then…yeah. Turns out that was the title!

    I don’t watch many thriller movies, and haven’t intentionally watched horror movies ever. I’ve gotten suckered into watching a couple. Not. A. Fan. They mess with my head too much and come back in my dreams. No thanks!

    So…Have you seen any of these movies? Nope. (pun intended)

    Do you consider film to be art? Absolutely!

    Do you think movies should make us think about the underlying issues that we face every day, or that exist around us?

    I’m not a fan of the word “should”. But…I do think movies that make us think deeper have their place. I’ve lived life with a fairly high perceived need for dissociation, so I typically pay full fare at the cinema wanting to experience some sort of departure from my daily life. But at home, I like watching a movie that makes me think. Which…reminds me of an old song by Clint Black on his album D’Lectrified, and specifically the “Outside Intro” to it… called Galaxy Song. Here’s the lyrics for the intro:

    When you’re feeling inside out and insecure and life keeps getting you down
    When all life’s daily worries hurry through your head
    You don’t want to even get up, you just lie around in bed
    When you feel you just can’t take it anymore (I can’t take it)
    And you wonder what on earth it is all for
    Your love life’s like a war zone, your tv’s on the blink
    It’s enough to drive a drinking man to stop and take a think…

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    1. I don’t normally watch this genre, however, when I see solid reviews, I start to wonder and then I saw a few and I was pleasantly surprised by some of them. Good stories and thought provoking

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  14. What I liked about “The Batman” was its not-so-subtle nod toward the Zodiac killer, a crime spree that has long fascinated me. The only other one I’ve seen is “Get Out,” which I did enjoy quite a bit.

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  16. Yes, film is an art form. But not every piece of art is good, or enjoyable, because art is a subjective experience. I chose not to watch horror or gore, anything which will give me sleepless nights (child abuse for example), and any form of propaganda.

    I’ve not seen any of the films listed, but we tend to catch up late with stuff as we don’t go to movie theatres. I imagine The Batman will feature, but would need to look up the rest.

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  17. I have always loved movies and there are those that make me think and others just pure entertainment. We saw Get Out and enjoyed it. Haven’t seen any of the others you mention. I don’t watch much horror or violence these days. More into happy fare or some thrillers.

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  18. Yes I love movies and especially ones that take us on history tour. Get out was good. Not a fan of the typical scary movies like Jason, etc. but I do like the ones that make you say wait that can really happen!

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  19. I can’t watch horror/scary films. 😣🙈
    That said, I enjoy the art of film-making as well and think you’re right. Like with a book, the movie takes a shape and (sometimes barely) ends up fitting into a genre; but issues raised or a statement a character makes or the way a person behaves (etc!) hits you just right and you think about things differently.

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