Hello everyone, hope you are all looking forward to Christmas and getting a nice relaxing break! This month is always crazy busy (especially with two small kids) but I have still managed to watch almost ten films in December. I’ve done a lot of rewatching as there are so many Christmas and Christmas adjacent films out there.

Deep dive: Infinity Pool, 2023

Brandon Cronenberg has a lot to live up to. His dad, David Cronenberg, is the Canadian king of body horror. David is responsible for Videodrome and The Fly, as well as thrillers such as Eastern Promises and A History of Violence.

A writer, James, (Alexander Skasgard) and his wife are on holiday in a luxury resort in a ‘dangerous’ country. Guests are not allowed to go outside the resort, but James and his wife are convinced by Gabi (Mia Goth) to go on a day trip. James accidentally runs a local over while driving back drunk to the resort. He is given a choice by law enforcement - be executed or pay a large amount of money to have a double of himself made and then executed while he watches. From there, we descend into a waking nightmare with a lot of squishy body horror that has James questioning who he really is.

This film has a lot of themes. One is obviously about who we are really, underneath all the societal pleasantries and etiquette. Especially with a double involved, James can't know for certain whether he is the real person or not.

The country that they visit is some kind of white Westerner's worst nightmare, with harsh laws, poverty and general bad vibes. I've actually watched a fair number of films about rich white people who try to find the 'authentic' country on non approved expeditions that go horribly wrong in various ways (Old, The Ruins and 47 Metres Down are some that come to mind). A central scene has a group don creepy masks and engage in a very strange orgy. As a lover of Greek mythology, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between this and the cult of Dionysus. Those who follow the cult go into a kind of orgiastic stupor state (and sometimes do terrible things as in The Bacchae by Euripedes). The hedonism of the rich and their lack of ability to care about anything much, while exploiting as much as possible, is definitely being explored here, as is the question of whether James can fit into this life at all.

It turns out James was only able to release his book because his wife's father owns a publishing house and that the book was a huge flop, so part of the film must be Brandon himself exploring whether he himself is up to making films and whether he can live up to the Cronenberg legacy?

The answer to that, for my money, is mostly yes. Although I'm not quite sure it adds up to something satisfying as a whole, it is still a very beautiful film to watch with some lovely shots oddly. Alexander Skasgard and Mia Goth are so great too. I’ve also been thinking about it since I watched it, so it has stayed with me.

Other films I've enjoyed this month:

The Curse of Frankenstein: Peter Cushing as a psychotic and evil incarnation of Victor Frankenstein will never not be my thing. The trifecta of Cushing, Christopher Lee as the Creation and Terence Fisher directing, together with the luscious sets and costumes, is Hammer Horror at its finest. It was also Hammer’s first big hit!

Young Frankenstein (rewatch): I'm watching a number of Frankenstein films at the moment as I'm catching up on Evolution of Horror's latest season, Man Made Monsters. This is such a great parody of Universal's original 1931 film and the follow up Bride of Frankenstein. It will have you laughing all the way through.

Sound of Music (rewatch): I introduced this to my daughter (6) this month instead of watching Elena of Avalor for the thousandth time. Even though it’s extremely schmaltzy and too long (nearly 3 hours!!), I can’t help but love it so much. When I was younger I just wanted to be Liesl dancing in the storm in that beautiful dress.

Die Hard (rewatch): The second best Christmas film after Muppet’s Christmas Carol. They don’t make them like this anymore. Everything in this film is iconic and Alan Rickman is such a treasure.

Gremlins (rewatch): This is the third best Christmas film, although I think an argument could be made for Billy Wilder’s The Apartment. This time round I really noticed that it’s steeped in an anti-Reagan message, not least with the owner of the bank deliberately being an homage to the Wicked Witch of the West. Also some nice Alien and Dawn of the Dead references and two great set pieces (the kitchen and the cinema).

Final Note

I was really sad to learn the news that Rob Reiner had passed away (and in such awful circumstances). He directed so many great films, but The Princess Bride is such a touchstone in my relationship. My husband and I passed the book between us as teens when we first started dating, before watching the film. It’s one of my earliest and fondest memories of that time. If you’ve not seen it then you’re in for one of the best and silliest adventure stories of all time. Have fun storming the castle and see you next time for a round up of my year!