The old Universal horror movies like Wolfman and Creature from the Black Lagoon get more love as trendsetting genre films rather than as quality pictures, but Night of the Hunter homages their stark black and white images with a more horrible creature than they ever could have conceived. A beautiful film that did not get its due back in the day, Night of the Hunter is fucking awesome.
I saw this movie in the theater when it was released and remembered two things: the chain and the nudity. The rest kinda floated away on a cloud of booze and hundreds of other movies released that year, and it was not a good year for movies. What I did not remember was the musical about trauma and healing that Black Snake Moan becomes.
Having seen that life close up for half my life as well as living in the bayou of Louisiana for a time, Southern Comfort is an accurate depiction of the effectiveness of the National Guard.
Spending time with people tends to bring out all those little eccentricities, but in the case of Reflecting Skin it brings out all the dark, weird shit swirling beneath.
Romance is best left to those that go in with an open heart and an open mind. Close either one and you have a relationship, but one with no passion or no devotion. No trust in the thing you share with another. I'm rambling, but Mud's characters hold love as an absolute that can be dwindled until they realize it is something that can be grown.
A deep southern gothic musical vampire movie, Sinners is about how failure and success are thrust up on you by the simple choices you make, even one as simple as letting go or holding on to a guitar. Get a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat of the hot summer sun and turn on some blues while we talk about this titanic film.