The Feminist Bibliothecary Recommends Fifteen Movies For the Halloween Season

I’m definitely a Halloween person, probably because of my love of all things horror, spooky, mysterious, etc. that has steadily built throughout my life. I love a good spooky movie, and I’ve watched my share, and I have a list of some recommendations to share! I’ve refrained from putting anything too obvious in here (no matter how much I love Scream [1996] or The Cabin in the Woods [2011]), so hopefully you can find something new to check out here no matter how many spooky vibes movies you’ve seen.

Raw (2016, dir. Julia Ducournau, French)

This French coming of age body horror film follows a staunch vegetarian’s entrance to veterinary college as she develops cannibalistic urges. Raw is tense and disturbing in the best way, while also being a story of sisterhood and coming of age.

Häxan (1922, dir. Benjamin Christensen, silent)

A silent Swedish horror film, Häxan is set up like a documentary about the history of witches. It has a sinister vibe, an interesting subject matter, and can be clearly seen as an influence on later horror films. You can watch the full film on youtube here.

Son of Ingagi (1940, dir. Richard C. Kahn, English)

Son of Ingagi is the earliest known science-fiction horror film with an all-Black cast. A Black woman scientist comes home from an expedition to Africa with a missing link monster. It’s a solid monster movie with a sense of humour. You can watch the full film on youtube here.

Train to Busan (2016, dir. Yeon Sang-ho, Korean)

This South Korean zombie flick has lots of action, emotion, social commentary, and intensely creepy, fast-moving zombies. Train to Busan has gained enough of a cult following that it has a couple of sequels, but the original is everything a zombie movie needs to be all on its own.

Ginger Snaps (2000, dir. John Fawcett, English)

Ginger Snaps is a Canadian cult classic and one of the best werewolf movies out there. It’s a great movie for those like myself who enjoy the trope of monstrous girls as part of a coming of age story.

Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017, dir. Issa López, Spanish)

Set in a modern day Mexican city, Tigers Are Not Afraid is a fantasy horror that blends crime and magical realism. The story centres on a group of young children, orphaned by the ongoing Drug War, as they live their lives on the streets and hope for the return of their parents.

The Invisible Man (2020, dir. Leigh Whannell, English)

Inspired by the H.G. Wells novel of the same name, The Invisible Man is a new take on the classic story in which a woman believes she is being stalked by her supposedly dead abuser. With stellar acting and deftly handled themes of abuse, it’s worth the watch.

Blood Quantum (2019, dir. Jeff Barnaby, English/Mi’kmaq)

Set on a Mi’kmaq reservation in what is known as Quebec, Blood Quantum is a zombie horror in which being Indigenous makes you immune to zombie bites. It’s a bloody and intense movie filled with excellent social and political commentary, and one of my personal favourites.

The Lure (2015, Agnieszka Smoczyńska, Polish)

If a carnivorous mermaid horror musical sounds like your jam, this is a must watch. The Lure offers up yet another instance of monstrous girls in a coming of age tale, but inspired by The Little Mermaid, and with surprisingly enjoyable songs along the way.

Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019, dir. Xavier Burgin, English)

Fancy a documentary as part of your Halloween watch list? Horror Noire, based on the book by Robin R. Means Coleman, shares the history of Black people starring in/making horror movies in the US. It’s incredibly interesting to watch, and will give you a whole new list of movies to watch.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014, dir. Ana Lily Amirpour, Farsi)

Noir western meets vampire film, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is about a vampiric anti-hero and a man who is drawn to her, offering a fresh feminist take on vampire mythos. It’s moody and engrossing with a surprising realism and a great soundtrack.

The Wind (2018, dir. Emma Tammi, English)

The Wind is a horror western set in late 19th century New Mexico centered on two couples in a remote area as they’re looking to build a new community, but supernatural horrors await. The atmosphere is superb and the non-linear narrative will keep you guessing until the end.

Onibaba (1964, dir. Kaneto Shindō, Japanese)

Set in medieval Japan, this historical horror drama is set in the midst of war as two women kill stray soldiers for their possessions, but a man comes between them, leading to a horrifying climax. Onibaba is tense, atmospheric, and fascinating to watch as a piece of post-WWII Japanese horror.

La Llarona (2019, dir. Jayro Bustamante, Spanish/Mayan-Caqchickel/Mayan-Ixil)

La Llarona is a chilling piece of Guatemalan history and present presented as an atmospheric folk horror story. It follows the family of an aging general who committed atrocities against the Maya people just as justice is being attempted, a new maid is hired, and a sinister haunting begins.

Homebodies (1974, dir. Larry Yust, English)

In 1970s Cincinnati, this horror comedy centres on the elderly residents of a condemned building as they are being unceremoniously evicted from their building to make way for progress. Homebodies is unexpectedly fun and has powerful commentary on gentrification.

I Love Horror Movies and Romance Novels For Essentially the Same Reasons

The reasons I love horror movies and romance novels are basically the same. I’ve said this a few times out loud, and I always end up with people looking at me like I’ve grown a second head when I do, but it’s true. Horror movies and romance novels are each a comforting genre in their respective medium forms for me, so they’re both something I consume a decent amount of. Considering that they are very different on a surface level, I initially laughed at this discrepancy, but it didn’t take long to realise that they’re more similar than people give them credit for. Before I explain, I would like to note that while I enjoy romance movies and horror novels, neither one holds the same level of place in my heart as the pairing in the title, which is why I have chosen the specific comparison here, and not a more general genre comparison.

On a surface level, they’re both genre fiction. Neither romance novels nor horror movies are considered high art by the established mainstream of either medium. There’s a certain amount of condescension that is levied at the creators and consumers alike when it comes to romance novels and horror movies. There are too many tropes and too much repetition, they’re cheesy, they’re not believable, they aren’t as good as the “real” art and if they were they would win mainstream awards, and so on. I’ve always enjoyed genre fiction more than more literary and mainstream styles, and finding myself most at home in genres that are popular but often looked down upon is definitely on brand for me (my queer disabled self can’t help it).

While the execution isn’t always ideal, both genres often feature women at the centre. Romance is traditionally by women, about women, and for women (and has especially expanded in recent years to reflect a broader variety of genders), and horror often features a “final girl,” the last woman standing after an hour and a half of chaos and death. I’ve always been drawn to stories about women, so to see that my favourite genres in books and movies are ones that often place women at the core of the story isn’t exactly a surprise. There are so many stories with compelling characters, likeable and unlikeable, that I feel like I don’t get to see nearly as much as in other genres.

While both horror movies and romance novels are each a category that have extensive problems with how marginalised creators and characters are treated (just as you’ll find with most categories), I’ve personally enjoyed the ways that many works have tackled these issues from unique perspectives. These genres may be commercially accessible, but we can see them tackle everything from grief to child abuse to racism to misogyny to homophobia to ableism, and more. Horror movies and romance novels are able to use their dark or light moods to help carry a story that reflects the real world and the people in it. Many of these darker themes and realistic stories can be hard to consume and process, but seeing them in horror movies and romance novels puts them into a context that is easier to process, giving viewers and readers the chance to explore difficult subjects safely.

I think one of the most obvious comparisons between romance novels and horror movies (or between the genres in any medium) is that they both make extensive use of genre-specific tropes. While extensive tropes are often criticised by those who are not fans of these genres, many fans of the genres find themselves loving tropes (including picking favourites and least favourites). There isn’t a lot of overlap between romance tropes and horror tropes, but they serve the same purpose. People know what to expect of a story based on what tropes are present, and even further, creators can completely demolish expectations by taking a trope and twisting it to serve a new purpose. The tropes in these genres are especially well defined, such as a haunted house horror movie or an enemies to lovers romance novel, and this framework completely changes how viewers and readers interact with a story.

For me personally, and for others I know who consume horror movies or romance novels, there is definitely a huge element them easing anxiety. Romance novels have a guaranteed happy ending, which means that no matter what emotional things they put you through, things will still be okay. There is a guarantee that even if bad things happen, even if people are hurt, even if it is dealing with some of the difficult subjects mentioned above, things will be okay in the end, and love will win. Horror makes no such promises, with a happy ending never being guaranteed. Horror movies will put you through hell with no promise that things will be okay. While we aren’t offered a security blanket within a horror movie, we are offered a catharsis. We get the chance to explore our anxieties safely and know that at the end things go back to normal for us, even if the movie ends horrifically. These may be completely different ways of dealing with anxiety through the media we consume, but each way gives us something unique and interesting, and each way has done something for me personally.

I think one of the most profound things that romance novels and horror movies have in common is the communities of fans each one has. If you’re interested in either one, you can find countless other fans, online and in real life, to talk about your favourites and least favourites, the good and bad tropes, creators with interesting styles, and more. Being a part of broader fan communities can be an amazing way to connect with other people, find new favourites, and get the chance to talk about something you care about with others who care too.

I know that romance novels and horror movies aren’t traditionally thought of as being similar, and in a lot of ways they are very obviously extremely different. But I love them both and I love them for reasons that are painfully similar.

16 Songs For The Characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender

I didn’t really watch Avatar: The Last Airbender as a kid. By the time I realised it might be something I’d enjoy, I wasn’t even sure where to watch it. Now that it’s finally on Netflix, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon hard. I’ve watched it multiple times, read fifteen of the comics (so far), I’m in fan groups on Facebook, and I’ve been enjoying memes and fan art on Instagram and Tumblr. My brother and I are pretty much communicating exclusively in ATLA references at this point (and he contributed to my selection process in this post, you can find him on Instagram here). I’ve been thinking a lot about songs that I think represent the spirit and personality of many of the important characters in ATLA, and here are the ones that stuck the best.

Note: These songs are specifically for characters that appeared in ATLA. I haven’t yet seen The Legend of Korra or read its comics, and I haven’t yet read the Kyoshi novels.

 

Aang

Shanren – Three Decades

Everything about Three Decades makes it feel like the kind of song Aang would just have an incredible time dancing to, like something he might request be played at a secret dance party. I also think the traditional folk style blended with more modern elements suits his personal history perfectly.

 

Katara

Kelly Fraser – Fight for the Rights

Katara is consistently about fighting for rights, especially for those who are struggling the most. Since the Southern and Northern water tribes alike are based upon Inuit culture, it seems only appropriate that Katara’s song be by an Inuk singer speaking about fighting for the rights of the people.

 

Sokka

Snotty Nose Rez Kids featuring The Sorority – Son of a Matriarch

A big part of Sokka’s journey surrounds his letting go of sexist thought and embracing the strong women in his life, so it seems especially appropriate to give him a song that acknowledges those relationships and the respect that he gains.

 

Toph

X-Ray Spex – Oh Bondage! Up Yours!

I feel like Oh Bondage! Up Yours! is a great representation of Toph’s personality, especially since she leaves her parents when they aren’t willing to respect her as her own whole person, and later creates a new form of bending to literally break out of bondage when they send someone to return her home.

 

Zuko

Since Zuko goes through the most dramatic changes, only one song didn’t feel quite right. I chose Army of Me by Björk for Zuko as he is in the first two books, more of a conflicted villain character with damaging behaviour. I chose Never Really Good At Sports by Sledding With Tigers for the Zuko of book three, on the path to redemption and learning to choose goodness and love.

Björk – Army of Me

 

Sledding With Tigers – Never Really Good At Sports

 

Uncle Iroh

Tom Rosenthal – Keep Me Warm

A song about love, loss, and hope feels like something perfect for the emotional journey we share with Uncle Iroh throughout ATLA. The calm feeling of it also suits his nature, as though the song itself is a cup of tea.

 

Mai

The Gathering – Rollercoaster

Rollercoaster’s lyrics manage to suit Mai’s personal evolution and relationships, especially her struggles with her family. That said, the sound also manages to suit her gloomy goth aesthetic.

 

Bumi

Kate Bush – Sat In Your Lap

As Aang puts it, Bumi is a “mad genius,” so Sat In Your Lap, a chaotic song about the pursuit of knowledge, feels ideal. Additionally, the line “just when I think I’m king” certainly fits his dethroning.

 

Suki

Little Mix – Salute

As a teenage girl and the leader of the Kyoshi warriors, Suki absolutely deserves a girl power song for herself and all her recruits that represents her independence, her camaraderie, her warrior role, and her powerful aesthetic.

 

Yue

Lim Kim – YO-SOUL

The ethereal soundscape and soulful lyrics to YO-SOUL seem to suit Yue’s role as an emotionally struggling princess and her transition to becoming the literal moon spirit.

 

Firelord Ozai

Rage Against The Machine – Sleep Now In The Fire

As the ultimate villain in ATLA, Ozai doesn’t have a lot of personality outside of being an abusive husband and father and a genocidal tyrant. I feel like the lyrics from this classic RATM track capture that tyranny perfectly.

 

Azula

(G)I-DLE – Lion

As one of the primary villains of ATLA, Azula is fierce, commanding, powerful, and threatening, with little patience for the failures of those around her, and although I wouldn’t consider Lion to be a villanous song, it captures a lot of who Azula is as a person, with or without her villainy.

 

Ty Lee

CLC – I Like It

This bright and bubbly CLC song fits Ty Lee perfectly, opening on an expression of emotional vulnerability and asking not to be hurt, but quickly moving on to lyrics of joyful movements and time with friends, especially as she draws her friends out of their shells.

 

Ty Lee and Azula

No Reason from the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Beetlejuice, Performed by Leslie Kritzer and Sophia Anne Caruso

The interactions between these characters in the Beetlejuice musical feels very much like an interaction Ty Lee and Azula might have had, and even the vocal styles feel like they match their respective characters. It was too perfect for their relationship to not give them this additional joint song.

 

Avatar Kyoshi

Chris Kando Iijima, Joanne Nobuko Miyamoto, “Charlie” Chin – Imperialism Is Another Word For Hunger

Kyoshi makes such a strong stand for justice and against imperialism in ATLA that to share anything but an anti-imperialist song would do her a disservice. Between her advice to Aang that “Only justice can bring peace” and her having taken down a colonizing tyrant in her own time, it is pretty clear where her values lie.

 

5 Things to Do from Home While Isolated

It can be hard to figure out what to do while stuck at home in isolation. There’s an abundance of activities, an abundance of places to access them for free or at a cost, and at the same time, it can feel like there’s nothing to do. As someone who is on long term disability leave, I’m rather used to staying at home for my health, and while I wouldn’t consider myself an expert on the subject, I’m eager to share some of the ways I keep myself occupied when I need something to do and can’t leave the house.

 

Lite Reads

A little bit of self-promotion to start us off. Lite Reads is a weekly short story club that I run right here on the Feminist Bibliothecary. Every Sunday I announce a new short story (and occasionally other short works like essays, comics, poetry, and speeches, but primarily short fiction), and I include links to read the story for free. I only select stories that we can access legally for free so that everyone can read them. If there is an audio version of the story, I include this as well. It is shared on all of our social media, including discussion questions towards the end of the week, and readers are welcome to share their thoughts. Each Saturday, I share a full review of the story before the new one is announced on Sunday. It’s a great way to get involved in reading short amounts every week with no commitment required and a variety of content (different genres, author backgrounds, times written, styles, and more) to explore. You can read our list of reasons to enjoy Lite Reads here, and you can explore all of our previous selections and reviews here.

 

Digital Library Resources

Most local libraries are closed (and if they’re not, they likely should be), but you can still support your local library by exploring their digital resources. This can actually help your library in the long run because normally library funding is determined by the number of patron visits and checkouts, but since they are closed, funding will likely be determined by the use of digital resources and the amount of social media interaction. Follow your library on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Check their website to see if they have Overdrive/Libby or Hoopla (ebook/e-audiobook lending services) or RBDigital (magazines) or Kanopy (movies) or a service that offers free classes. Some libraries are doing live storytimes for kids. Unfortunately, these services will not be available at every library and will depend upon the size and funding of your library. You should still try to access any services your library might offer.

 

Transcription Volunteer

I know that many people who are used to working and feeling productive are at a bit of a loss as to how they can still feel productive when they can’t go to work or even volunteer in their communities. One way you can be productive from the safety of your home is by volunteering to do transcription. Organisations like the Smithsonian have programs where volunteers take historical documents (ranging from journals to scientific papers to music to legal documents and more) and transcribe them so that they can be viewed and searched digitally, rather than only as a scanning of the original documents. This can help with accessibility, scientific research, historical research, and more. If you’re eager to do something that makes you feel productive, this can be a great outlet for that energy.

 

Citizen Science

Citizen science is when regular people contribute to scientific research with their own work that doesn’t require any scientific background. With the internet creating a global connection, citizen science is easier to participate in than ever. Activities can include bird watching and bug hunting, monitoring your own health and wellbeing, and furthering research through online games. Even transcription work, like what we mentioned above, is a type of citizen science. I recommend checking out SciStarter, a website that can help you search for and connect with the type of citizen science that interests you or your kids the most. If you can access it, I also recommend checking out The Field Guide to Citizen Science: How You Can Contribute to Scientific Research and Make a Difference by Darlene Cavalier, Catherine Hoffman, and Caren Cooper, which provides background information on citizen science as well as a ton of resources about specific programs and types of programs that you can get involved with. 

 

Explore Media Through Free Resources

There are so many free resources available online, and there are more than ever right now as some services are offering up their paid services for free. I couldn’t possibly list all of them, but I’ve put together a few of the ones that I think will be most helpful or that I have particularly enjoyed. It can be hard to find something to do, but an abundance of free media is one of the many ways we can keep ourselves occupied while staying safe.

Scribd is a book service offering up a free month because of everything going on, and Shudder is a horror streaming service giving a free month with the coupon SHUTIN. Youtube is obviously a solid resource for music, cooking shows, and a ton of everything, but it also has a really great selection of classic movies–almost every silent film I’ve seen has been through youtube–and free Librivox audiobooks of classic novels and stories are available there as well. Audible is offering up dozens of audiobooks in multiple languages for a variety of age groups available for free. Shakespeare’s Globe is offering up many of their productions to stream for free, and many smaller theatres are offering up similar services, so check any local ones. You can watch a variety of classic, international, and independent films on Mubi, which comes with a free thirty day trial–thirty films are available at once and remain for thirty days each, with a new one coming in and an old one leaving daily. I also previously compiled this list of resources to access free zines if exploring zines is something you’re interested in doing with your extra time.

 

Let me know in the comments if you have a favourite resource or at-home activity that I missed.

Falling in Love with Austenland

I came across the 2013 film Austenland completely by a happy accident. A few years back, I was running an annual online film challenge among friends and acquaintances. The entire goal was to help us all watch more films, especially from a broader selection, and that we would be more aware of our choices. It was a lot of fun (at the very least, it was a lot of fun for me), and I did find that my goals with it were met personally. One of the categories was to watch a film directed by a woman, and that led me to Austenland.

Austenland was directed by Jerusha Hess, and it was based around the premise of a woman so passionately in love with Jane Austen’s novels, especially Pride and Prejudice, that she goes on a vacation to a British resort where the hosts bring the Regency era to life, and the guests act in character as though from the same period as Jane Austen’s novels. It happened to be on a list of films directed by women, the premise looked cute (and intensely relatable as a book lover and history geek, even one without much Austen experience), and it was on Netflix at the time. I settled in for a fun romp and another check on my list. To say it surpassed my expectations would be putting it lightly.

The film centres Jane, a woman who thinks that a trip to Austenland will either be the time of her life or the cure to her obsession. Even though I’ve only read one Austen novel (it was Northanger Abbey, and I do promise I intend to read more), it was so easy to relate to the premise. I’m the kind of person who reads obsessively and gets incredibly invested in series, authors, stories, worlds. I’m also a big fan of the historical period Jane Austen lived and wrote in. I feel like this is the kind of vacation I would take if I could afford to, so it was easy to imagine myself in Jane’s shoes.

It does make use of some romantic tropes I’m not entirely fond of (I’m almost never keen on love triangles), but it also manages to make good use of other romantic tropes. Naturally, the romantic hero has to be of the Darcy variety given the story’s premise. It fits in with a lot of romantic comedy film elements in general.

As much as Austenland was incredibly funny with a sweet and happy ending, my coconnection to the premise is what made it work so well for me. The romantic plot made me happy. The jokes made me laugh. But the setting of a bookish roleplay resort visited by an obsessive bookish heroine was too relatable for me to not throw my heart and soul into.

It wasn’t until later that I learned the film had been adapted from a book of the same name by the author Shannon Hale (an author I had already enjoyed books from in the past). Fortunately for me, the book was as easy to get a hold of as the movie was. There were a number of differences, some where I preferred the book (the reason she goes to Austenland) and others where I preferred the film (the romantic hero’s back story), but ultimately I got another chance to enjoy a new favourite from a fresh perspective.

I actually ended up liking the movie more. Blasphemy to say in most bookish circles, but it happens sometimes (this is where I nod discretely at the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Princess Bride). The book wasas delight in almost every way, with some especially good twists, but it didn’t click in that same way for me. Maybe I just needed that stellar hilarious cast to bring the jokes to life. Maybe the dated nature of the book bugged me more than I initially thought (with the single use of a slur that was sadly rather ubiquitous in 2007, but is only used to cause deliberate harm now), although it only came out six years earlier. The book has a sequel, which looks jut as delightful, and I hope to read it soon (I have a copy, but I just haven’t had time for it).

I think there’s something really special about a movie that can just lure you in with its premise and keep you there with its mixture of unique humour and favourite tropes. Austenland has generally negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but it is definitely something for me that feels right to love, even when no one else seems to love it the same way.

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