Renewed my Shudder subscription, mainly so I can rewatch Dragula seasons 💅
Watched two films last night, strangely both tackling similar themes but with their own distinct framing. Was surprised both random films turned out great!
The first film I watched was sMOTHERed (2025).
An Indonesian film about a successful artist in Jakarta, his college professor wife, and his mum visiting from the village she lives in. This film really surprised me, because I kept thinking it was going in one direction for it then throw more loops and curve balls. It went to some very, very dark places near the end but handled it so well, and from the perspective of a culture I don’t belong to.
5/5 hobbits, do recommend but be mindful of the last half hour, because while it felt cohesive with the story it is telling, it was still a shock to me even.
The second film is called Other (2025).
I thought this would be a creature feature, and it kinda is, but the depth of story they give it and the MC is crazy good. I can’t really say much without spoiling it heavily, but it is phenomenal. You only ever see the MCs face, every other characters face is obscured; tying in perfectly with the monster only ripping people’s faces off. Bits of gore, but not gratuitous, relatively few cheap jump scares, and an amazing story of one woman’s preservence in the face of her own trauma.
5/5 hobbits. Trigger warnings if you have a bad mum lol
Yeah, I went into it blind so it was quite… Something. It’s told really well though, but it’s fucking BRUTAL.
I looked it up last night and apparently it’s based on an Indonesian legend of the Ungrateful Child (basically, boy raised by single mum in fishing village, leaves to make money and doesn’t return for years. Turns up as an adult super wealthy, but pretends he doesn’t know who she is. So on his ship home, a storm happens and turns him into stone. Basically, respect your parents and what they’ve done for you, otherwise you could become the Ungrateful Child). I think they adapted it really well, but it isn’t my culture so perhaps there are things I’m missing.
But yes, I was NOT expecting it dive into the topics it did.
Renewed my Shudder subscription, mainly so I can rewatch Dragula seasons 💅
Watched two films last night, strangely both tackling similar themes but with their own distinct framing. Was surprised both random films turned out great!
The first film I watched was sMOTHERed (2025).
An Indonesian film about a successful artist in Jakarta, his college professor wife, and his mum visiting from the village she lives in. This film really surprised me, because I kept thinking it was going in one direction for it then throw more loops and curve balls. It went to some very, very dark places near the end but handled it so well, and from the perspective of a culture I don’t belong to.
5/5 hobbits, do recommend but be mindful of the last half hour, because while it felt cohesive with the story it is telling, it was still a shock to me even.
The second film is called Other (2025).
I thought this would be a creature feature, and it kinda is, but the depth of story they give it and the MC is crazy good. I can’t really say much without spoiling it heavily, but it is phenomenal. You only ever see the MCs face, every other characters face is obscured; tying in perfectly with the monster only ripping people’s faces off. Bits of gore, but not gratuitous, relatively few cheap jump scares, and an amazing story of one woman’s preservence in the face of her own trauma.
5/5 hobbits. Trigger warnings if you have a bad mum lol
Just read spoilers for sMOTHERed and um, wow.
Yeah, I went into it blind so it was quite… Something. It’s told really well though, but it’s fucking BRUTAL.
I looked it up last night and apparently it’s based on an Indonesian legend of the Ungrateful Child (basically, boy raised by single mum in fishing village, leaves to make money and doesn’t return for years. Turns up as an adult super wealthy, but pretends he doesn’t know who she is. So on his ship home, a storm happens and turns him into stone. Basically, respect your parents and what they’ve done for you, otherwise you could become the Ungrateful Child). I think they adapted it really well, but it isn’t my culture so perhaps there are things I’m missing.
But yes, I was NOT expecting it dive into the topics it did.