CJW: My mental health has taken another dive, and I’m finding it basically impossible to engage with my article reading, at all. Usually when this happens I can still read, or at least skim, the articles, but I might struggle when it comes to writing them up for the newsletter - this time around though, I can barely bring myself to read them.

So, I’m going to be taking a bit of a break from being your current events sin-eater. I decided that while I’m taking a minor break, I might dive into this list of movies I’ve been keeping around for ages, and finally get around to watching them. Thus I present to you, the inaugural August Movie August (because heaven-forbid I actually take any time off-off).

Below I’ve included my list of movies so that if you want to play along at home, you can. And if you do, feel free to hit me up with your thoughts and I might include them along with my own in my next dispatch.

The Selection

• A Dark Song (2016) - dir. Liam Gavin

A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.

• Baise-Moi (2000) - dir. Virginie Despentes and Coralie

Two young women, marginalised by society, go on a destructive tour of sex and violence. Breaking norms and killing men - and shattering the complacency of polite cinema audiences.

• Come and See (1985) - dir. Elem Klimov

After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.

• El Topo (1970) - dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky

A mysterious black-clad gunfighter wanders a mystical Western landscape encountering multiple bizarre characters.

• The Empty Man (2020) - dir. David Prior

On the trail of a missing girl, an ex-cop comes across a secretive group attempting to summon a terrifying supernatural entity.

• The Holy Mountain (1973) - dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky

In a corrupt, greed-fueled world, a powerful alchemist leads a messianic character and seven materialistic figures to the Holy Mountain, where they hope to achieve enlightenment.

• The Handmaiden (2016) - dir. Park Chan-wook

A woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her.

• Inherent Vice (2014) - dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

In 1970, drug-fueled Los Angeles private investigator Larry “Doc” Sportello investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend.

• Monos (2019) - dir. Alejandro Landes

On a remote mountaintop, eight kids with guns watch over a hostage and a conscripted milk cow.

• Neon Demon (2016) - dir. Nicholas Winding Refn

An aspiring model, Jesse, is new to Los Angeles. However, her beauty and youth, which generate intense fascination and jealousy within the fashion industry, may prove themselves sinister.

• The Other Lamb (2019) - dir. Malgorzata Szumowska

A girl born into an all-female cult led by a man in their compound begins to question his teachings and her own reality.

• Possessor (2020) - dir. Brandon Cronenberg

Possessor follows an agent who works for a secretive organization that uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies - ultimately driving them to commit assassinations for high-paying clients.

• Raw (2016) - dir. Julia Ducournau

A young woman, studying to be a vet, develops a craving for human flesh.

• Sorcerer (1977) - dir. William Friedkin

Four unfortunate men from different parts of the globe agree to risk their lives transporting gallons of nitroglycerin across dangerous Latin American jungle.

• Stoker (2013) - dir. Park Chan-wook

After India’s father dies, her Uncle Charlie, whom she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

• To Live and Die in LA (1985) - dir. William Friedkin

A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.

• The Wailing (2016) - dir. Na Hong-jin

Soon after a stranger arrives in a little village, a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman, drawn into the incident, is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter.

• You Were Never Really Here (2017) - dir. Lynne Ramsay

A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe’s nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.