Not so nurturing

February 6, 2013 10:34 AM

Mamá. The sphincter-tightening short film by Andres Muschietti that inspired the movie of the same name, with an introduction by producer Guillermo del Toro.
posted by gottabefunky (20 comments total)

Plus Slate's take on the film's depiction of gender roles in horror movies.
posted by gottabefunky at 10:36 AM on February 6 [1 favorite]

I just gotta ask, sphincter-tightening, good thing or bad thing? Cuz I can see how it would go both ways.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 10:52 AM on February 6 [2 favorites]

The link above cuts off the end of the short film; one of the youtube commenters supplied a link to the full video.

(This didn't do much for me, honestly; the whole "I walk clumsily and in bullet-time and my hair is weird" thing feels a little played-out as a source of spooky.)
posted by ook at 11:03 AM on February 6 [2 favorites]

Do check out a movement test for the film. Beautiful spooky.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:08 AM on February 6 [4 favorites]

UGH. Actually ook is spot-on. The link in the post cuts off the ending in favor of a "SEE THE MOVIE!" ad. Kind of crapulent.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:12 AM on February 6

That short was surprisingly uninteresting. Things aren't scary without context or some emotional engagement with the characters, and all I got from that short were some shock scenes, two little girls, and a ghost.

The discussion of gender roles was more promising though, and I've liked a lot of Del Toro's work, so I'm glad this was posted. Thanks. The way he's handled gender in most of his films has been relatively unproblematic, compared to the rest of the genre. As a rule he writes the kind of films that I could watch with a woman without feeling that I should be apologizing for the film the entire time. Talk about low bars to set, but hey.
posted by Stagger Lee at 11:15 AM on February 6 [1 favorite]

Shit. For some reason I thought Del Toro made the full length film. I see that I was mistaken. I take it back.
posted by Stagger Lee at 11:16 AM on February 6

Thanks ook, I did think it ended kind of abruptly.

Is that movement test a puppet?
posted by gottabefunky at 11:16 AM on February 6

The clip in the post is missing the ending. ook's has the ending but is only 360p.

Here's a Hi-Def version with the ending intact. (Vimeo)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:17 AM on February 6 [2 favorites]

Shit. For some reason I thought Del Toro made the full length film. I see that I was mistaken. I take it back.

You and everyone else on Earth. The previews are blatantly false advertising.
posted by spicynuts at 11:17 AM on February 6

WHAT THE EFF IS HAPPENING IN THAT MOVEMENT TEST?

Is that a puppet? A contortionist? Something straight out of my nightmares?
posted by elmer benson at 11:17 AM on February 6 [1 favorite]

Yeah, Stagger Lee, I feel the same way.... I was expecting more of a creepy short story, and I don't know how much story is here in the short.

Horror that relies too heavily on monsters doesn't interest me much, unless the monsters are treated as a source of fascination (like in Lovecraft). Most of my favorite horror films--The Vanishing, The Wicker Man (the originals)--either have no supernatural elements, or the horror is purely human and the supernatural stuff works as a layer of myth more than something literal (del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is actually a wonderful example of what I mean here).
posted by byanyothername at 11:22 AM on February 6 [3 favorites]

I can't say I cared for the Slate piece. It really seemed like he was grasping to make a very thin point, but then he seems to shoot himself out of the water when he questions the adult female's actions in protecting the girls...

Why does Chastain insist on fighting a monster that’s ripped people’s heads apart for two girls she barely knows? How much more terrifying might things have been if Chastain’s character said, "Hey, I’m not the nurturing type" and left the girls to fend for themselves?

That really seems like "I got mine, fuck the rest of you" thinking taken to some absurdist extreme. One hardly needs to be "nurturing" to want to protect children in the face of danger.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:22 AM on February 6 [2 favorites]

MOVEMENT TEST IS PEOPLE.

It's a guy named Javier Botet, who has Marfan syndrome.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:23 AM on February 6 [3 favorites]

I just gotta ask, sphincter-tightening, good thing or bad thing? Cuz I can see how it would go both ways.

Sphincter-loosening is always bad.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 11:23 AM on February 6

Horror that relies too heavily on monsters doesn't interest me much, unless the monsters are treated as a source of fascination (like in Lovecraft). Most of my favorite horror films--The Vanishing, The Wicker Man (the originals)--either have no supernatural elements, or the horror is purely human and the supernatural stuff works as a layer of myth more than something literal (del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is actually a wonderful example of what I mean here).
posted by byanyothername at 11:22 AM on February 6

I think Devil's Backbone had a similar effect. It was a story about a time and a place, and a story about people... with ghosts. Del Toro has been pretty good about creating compelling worlds for his horror to rest in.
posted by Stagger Lee at 11:25 AM on February 6 [2 favorites]

Yeah that did nothing for me. Supernatural without a decent backstory or slowly drawing me in and suspending disbelief is empty. The Ring was a good example of something that was very scary and supernatural, but it was a slow, compelling build and focused on characters rather than shock value.
posted by jimmythefish at 11:28 AM on February 6 [1 favorite]

They're also using a bunch of wires in the movement test that let him walk so very off-balance. So really it's a combination of puppetry, contortionist, and genetic variation.
posted by echo target at 11:52 AM on February 6

You want a back story in 3 minutes? Take the title of the film, the two girls, and a ghost, and make your own.
posted by Brocktoon at 8:11 PM on February 6

If Guillermo del Toro is putting is name to it, I'm in.
I'm not sure about all these people who are confused he didn't direct it.
They've been pretty up front about the fact he found a short and produced it.
posted by Mezentian at 2:38 AM on February 7