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Notes -
Yeah the movie was a bit of a mixed bag, but that scene was incredible. Spoilers for the movie from here on out.
One of the reasons it was so compelling in my view is the way it subverted my expectations - up until then it had been following a pretty typical 'blacks defiant against cruel whites' blacksploitation narrative, an 'a celebration of black music and culture' narrative, with the only non-black song being the world's creepiest bluegrass rendition of a black song (that was another good scene though). Then they sing the Rocky Road to Dublin. And it starts off sounding a bit freaky like Pick Poor Robin Clean, with the main vampire calling out:
'Then off to reap the corn,
to leave where I was born,
I cut a stout blackthorn,
for to banish ghosts and goblins'
like a funeral dirge - slow and sombre, echoing hauntingly, drawing out words to throw the listener off balance. The tension builds with every second, and you wonder what heinous evil shit these kkk vampires are about to get into... And then the fiddle starts up. And maybe it's my Irish blood, but I found it impossible to not start tapping along with it, it's such a catchy tune. And not only are all of the turned people getting into it, they are enthusiastically getting into it, even Stack and Mary are joyfully singing and dancing along. It changes the entire dynamic of the film - gone is the manichean blacks vs whites narrative that the first act sets up, now things are more complicated. The vampires actually offer a form of salvation - by embracing the NRx philosophy, submitting to a philosopher king, Stack and Mary and co have gained both community and freedom.
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