Three Of The Best Twisted Pop Culture Movies
There are movies that just ooze a certain type of cinematography. They are dark, blazing red with gore, and well designed. They operate somewhat out of the box, but with connections to popular culture like Superman, World War 2 and 70's TV show Fantasy Island. I don't know to describe these movies, other than epic and a unique twist on popular designs, so instead I will simply provide you a list and you can make up your own genre for these twisted tales.
Brightburn
What is the actual likelihood of a mysterious child coming to Earth and then deciding to save it from the perils of the universe? Honestly, the odds are probably very slim, even with a good upbringing. With 2019's awesome horror movie Brightburn, a look at the alternate Superman, this movie focuses on a child with super-human abilities who starts to manifest a powerful darkness in him that he cannot control, and cannot help but act upon. This bloody, dark movie is near perfection and features one of the most horrific and epic death scenes ever, with a car flipping over and slicing a man directly through the jaw with the steering wheel. The man tries to hold his gaping jaw back into place as the evil child descends on him, filling his last moments with even more terror. Starring Elizabeth Banks, David Denman and Jackson A. Dunn, Brightburn is the anti-hero horror movie we all need.
Overlord
JJ Abrams' 2018 film about American paratroopers landing in Germany occupied France to blow up a radio tower on the eve of D Day follows not only the horrors of the reality of the second world war, but ups the ante by adding a classic cult favourite - Nazi zombies. In a time where Nazi's really did cruel experiments, this fictitious look at 1944 showcases the reanimation of corpses to fight for Hitler during his predicted "thousand year reign". Overlord features some of the most breathtaking CGI and cinematography that I have ever seen - especially in its opening scenes where the plane the paratroopers are on is gunned down on and they fall from the sky - and mixes war realities with terrifying reanimated corpses with appropriate gore. Starring Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, and Orange is the New Black's John Magaro, Overlord is not to be missed!
Fantasy Island
The 70's TV show of the same name was given a horror slice for the 2020 version of the movie, and it turned out to be one of the most perfect classic horror reboots every made! When five people win a chance to play out their ultimate fantasies on a mysterious island (and they "coincidentally" fit into the classic horror stereotypes without being over the top about it) they soon discover that they are actually all connected and are in one revenge fantasy. The twists that emerge within the movie are so perfectly curated that you don't see the twist coming until it is being set up two minutes before the reveal, and the characters create a perfect callback to the original TV show, with Michael Pena playing the embodiment of mysterious island keeper Mr. Roarke.
Overall, I was EXTREMELY impressed with Fantasy Island. Not quite a reboot, not quite a remake, it fit perfectly as a horror and as a callback and seems to be the underdog that more people need to be rooting for.
