(no subject)
Mama liked.
This was like "The Benders" gone extra dark. Really extra dark. You would think that, four seasons into the series it would be difficult for the show to surprise me with its darkness, but it did. Plus, it reclaimed that classic feel of the first season: the almost traditional ghost/haunted house setup, the literally "dark" lighting, the well-paced suspense, the clever camera angles amping up the claustrophobic feel. And then it took it one step further with the human horror of it all-not just that of the siblings (great twist with the brother, by the way), but with the father's savage slaying of the girl. My jaw hit the floor when she was dragged out of the shed and you knew it was the father... and then the sounds of the knife slashing her. So understated and so highly effective. So. Very. Dark.
Speaking of sounds, one (and probably the only) thing I was not happy with was the killing of the dog. Because: a.) the show has been so good up to this point about not depicting animal deaths (other than the poor bunny in "Malleus Maleficarum"), which is one of my-don't say it, don't say it, oh I have to say it-pet peeves with the horror genre (I'm looking at you, Stephen King), and b.) the SOUND of the dog whimpering was excruciating. Sounds like that make me wanna curl up in a ball and cry and cry. I can't take animal stuff. Kill and maim and mutilate as many people as you want to, as graphically as you want to in film and tv. But even imply something with animals, and I lose it. I know it's not real, but. GAH. Can. Not. Tolerate. That was such a beautiful dog too.
Also on the topic of sound, I LOVED the quietness of this episode. Once again, less is more. Quiet can be peaceful, but when used well it can also be very unnerving. And SPN really gets that.
Is this the season of incest? That's the third instance so far, right?
It seems fitting that I was reading Angela Carter's "Wolf-Alice" earlier today. That story and this episode's Big Bad dovetail well together.
I also liked how mature this felt. Occasionally I feel like Show is kowtowing to the network by writing teenybopper guest characters into the stories. But even with the children in this episode, it still felt adult.
Dean, oh Dean. Fuck, another confession. Another horrid revelation. And another lack of sufficient brotherly hugging. Dammit, Sam, what do we have to do to get you to stop giving your brother the puppy dog face and HUG him? *sigh* I know it won't make anything better, but it will make us feel better. Because that friggin' HURT. Dean-pain hurts like a thousand-million-billion paper cuts soaked in a bath of lemon juice. Now I need some levity.
As for next week....
Dude, there better be a Rocky Horror Picture Show reference in there somewhere. *g*