Welcome back, y’all!
THE QUEEREST THING I WATCHED THIS WEEK
Interview with the Vampire, but Kaos deserves to be mentioned as well.
FILM
REWATCH
Daredevil (available on Disney+)
Plot: A man blinded by toxic waste which also enhanced his remaining senses fights crime as an acrobatic martial arts superhero.
I hadn’t seen this in a long time, and after this watch, I can confidently say that I don’t need to see it again. The fight sequences with Daredevil (Ben Affleck) and Elektra (Jennifer Garner) still slap and I love this soundtrack, but overall the movie really doesn’t work on a story level, and it really should have focused on Bullseye (Colin Farrell) and let Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) be a background menace in order to build him up for another film. 3/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (available on Peacock)
Plot: Kids all over America want Silver Shamrock masks for Halloween. Doctor Daniel Challis seeks to uncover a plot by Silver Shamrock owner Conal Cochran.
I skipped this in my last Halloween rewatch, since it has nothing to do with Michael Myers. It’s generally considered very bad and through the first half I wondered why, because it was a pretty solid mystery/thriller, but the second half went off the rails and was hokey at best and nonsensical at worst.
Urban Legend (available on MAX)
Plot: A college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends.
I hadn’t seen this almost since it came out, but I’ve been meaning to give it a rewatch for a long time. I remember liking it at the time, but this time around I can see why it didn’t get the acclaim that other teen slashers of the 90s did. Structurally, it’s a rip-off of Scream, but given the concept, all the kills feel super gimicky. The coat that the killer wears is also not a great silhouette like the Scream costume or the slicker from I Know What You Did Last Summer. Finally, the performance from the killer when they are revealed is truly unhinged. What I did find fascinating was the level of young talent that this had: Joshua Jackson, Jared Leto, Rebecca Gayheart, Tara Reid, Alicia Witt, and Michael Rosenbaum (pre-Smallville), as well as Loretta Devine and Robert Englund. Not enough to make it good, though. 5/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
NEW TO ME
Candyman (available on Peacock)
Plot: The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth.
If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m embracing spooky season fully, haha. In all my horror franchise viewing, I’d never seen the CandyMan movies before, and I remedied that this year. This is quite good, and it was really fascinating seeing a horror movie set primarily in a black community (even though the leads are mostly white). Tony Todd makes a great villain and I can see why this character is up there with all the other horror greats. 8/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (available on MAX)
Plot: The Candyman arrives in New Orleans and sets his sights on a young woman whose family was ruined by the immortal killer years before.
This sequel takes the natural step for a franchise like this and dives into the history of Candyman and ties it into the present by involving one of his ancestors. It doesn’t have the same level of gravitas that the first one does, but it’s a decent sequel. 6/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
Candyman: Day of the Dead (available on MAX)
Plot: The Candyman is back, trying to convince his descendent, an artist, to join him.
For whatever reason, they decided to set this in “the future”, i.e. 2020 lol. So the protagonist is the daughter of the protagonist from the first film. Fortunately, they don’t try to make anything look futuristic, but that didn’t make this good. The writing and acting are atrocious and I can see why this killed the franchise until the recent reboot. 2/10. Queer Factor: 0/7
IN THEATERS
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Plot: After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.
There was a lot to like about this movie. Keaton’s performance was fantastic, of course, and Jenna Ortega fit right into this world seamlessly. All the Beetlejuice-y stuff was back and just the most fun and there were some genuinely funny moments as well as some great callbacks to the first film.
Unfortunately, the problem is the plot. And specifically that there’s too much of it. There are storylines that don’t go anywhere, villains are set up and then dispatched by very convenient means, and there was one character who had literally no impact on the rest of the film, but damn she looked great. I did have a good time watching this, but I wish the script were stronger. To no one’s surprise, Catherine O’Hara was the best part and had all the best lines. 7/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
TELEVISION
COMPLETE SEASONS
Kaos (Netflix), Season 1
Plot: The all-powerful yet insecure god Zeus starts to fear his end of reign once he notices a wrinkle on his forehead, possibly indicating the end of the world. He becomes paranoid and vengeful towards his devotees. Meanwhile, three humans start to discover their connections with each other and grand conspiracies involving the Greek gods.
I had high expectations going into this and they were very much met, and at times, exceeded. Not only was this well written, perfectly crafted, and delightfully acted, but it’s also queer af. Jeff Goldblum is incredible as a vain and tyrannical Zeus, Janet McTeer is perfection as the haughty, scheming Hera and you’ve got Nabhaan Rizwan playing a Dionysus without a purpose. On the human side, we’re given a new version of Orpheus (Killian Scott) and Eurydice (Aurora Perrineau), as well as a modern version of Caeneus (Misia Butler) and a strong take on Ariadne (Leila Farzad). I really enjoyed how they modernized and twisted the myths and gave us new versions of characters fans of Greek mythology are already so familiar with. Highly recommend this show and I sincerely hope it gets renewed for a second season. 10/10. Queer Factor: 5/7.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (Hulu)
Plot: The series follows current and former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) embroiled in drama over alcohol use, unwed pregnancies, male strip shows and partner-swapping.
I’m not usually interested in this type of reality show, as I am really anti-Housewives and Kardashians. But the trailer for this grabbed my attention with the idea of swingers among the Mormon church, so I had to give it a watch. My roommate and I binged the whole season in one night (do not recommend), and we were very much hooked on the drama, so I do get it now. We had to pause to discuss a number of times, especially later in the season when there is some extremely toxic behavior from a couple of the men on the show. I’ll definitely watch more of this if it gets more seasons, but it’s nothing more special than other reality shows of its ilk. 6/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
CONTINUING SEASONS
What’s New, Scooby Doo (available on MAX)
Season 2, Episodes 6-14
Season 3, Episodes 1-10
CONCLUDED SEASONS
Interview with the Vampire (available on Netflix), Season 1, Episodes 6-7
Plot: An updated retelling of Anne Rice’s famous novel.
I had read a version of this pilot a while back and was wildly unimpressed, but heard that the show was good and I’m glad that the latter was true. It updates the story by setting it slightly later, adding people of color, and making it truly gay in a way that the book and the 90s film couldn’t. They made some significant changes to the source material, but none of the changes were things I didn’t like, and the show itself deals with toxic relationships, racism, the potency of memory, and the nature of mortality. Season 1 told roughly the first half of the book, and I expect that Season 2 will do the rest and I can’t wait to see if they do the rest of the book series as well. 9/10. Queer Factor: 7/7
That’s it for this week! Grand total: 37 episodes, 7 films
Thanks for reading! Until next time, stay queer out there!