Shaun Of The Dead
Considered a horror story masterpiece, Psycho centers on the story of Marion Crane, who has stolen a significant sum of money and stopped at the Bates Motel to take a break as she’s heading out of town. But the hotel is far from being a charming bed-and-breakfast, and Marion, unfortunately, learns that Norman Bates and his mother aren’t the welcoming types. It’s clear that Marion is doomed to experience an untimely death.
Throughout the film, director Alfred Hitchcock provides clues that offer insight into the true nature of the movie’s characters. For example, there’s a reason Norman keeps a predatory bird collection, and Marion’s attraction to mirrors is a subtle indicator of her duplicitous personality.
Heralded as the first installment of the Cornetto trilogy, Shaun Of The Dead tells the story of two friends, generally regarded as losers, who are attempting to survive a zombie apocalypse and simultaneously rescue their family and friends.
The movie has earned a reputation as a masterclass in horror history: The names of famous horror movie actors and directors are cleverly presented throughout the movie, as are actors’ lines from George A. Romero’s Living Dead series. The film’s plotline is also foreshadowed by clever clues presented in everything from character dialogue to background posters.
Black Swan
In the movie Black Swan, Natalie Portman’s ballerina character embodies the purity of the white swan while at the same time envying the black swan ballerina as portrayed by Mila Kunis. Their rivalry is both beautiful and brutal, mesmerizing and startling, and many a theory has been presented as to what it all means: the death of innocence, budding secularity, or childhood abuse inflicted by a mother.
Black Swan presents a multilayered psychological edge that isn’t all that easy to analyze; additionally, it repeatedly shifts between reality and imagination, leaving the viewer to decide what is real and what is not.
Midsommar
Midsommar tells the story of Dani and her boyfriend Christian as they embark on a trip to Sweden in an attempt to reinvigorate their relationship, which is buckling under the strain of Dani’s grief at having tragically lost her family. The two-and-a-half-hour movie, inspired by Swedish cults and folklore, provides a foreign yet familiar strangeness and creepiness in a multitude of not-so-obvious themes.
Symbolism abounds in Midsommar; camera angles and film shots serve to represent the duality of life and death, good and evil. But you have to intently watch what’s playing out on screen; some of the most easily overlooked moments are also the most powerful and ominous.
Us
Jordan Peele’s second movie may indeed be categorized as a horror movie, but Us embodies layers of symbolism that tell a story of a different kind. While recounting the tale of a vacationing family confronted by their own doppelgangers, Peele exposes and explores deeper societal issues.
A deeper dive into the movie Us reveals a story of the underclass, represented by ‘the tethered’ who are oppressed, live in poverty, and are cut off from the world. Both literally and figuratively, the tethered vie for their time in the sun. Peele also dissects the themes of privilege, class distinctions, and ignorance, while also giving a nod to true-to-form horror movies: He frequently hints at some of the best-known horror flicks, including The Shining, but viewers will need to pay close attention to catch the references.