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PaperclipPerfector  18d ago (text post)   2127 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for May 15, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I think we're in the Second Horror Film Renaissance.

Periodically, a new movie comes out and it gets endlessly and hyperbolically glazed on Reddit, in large part due to some combination of annoying group think and botting. I think Obsession, which just came out, is one of the rare films that earns all that stuff. I think it might be one of my favorite horror films of all time. Great premise, great execution, goes in unexpected directions, probably the first time I've seen a movie where the presence of a character makes my chest feel tight throughout the whole movie. It has flaws, but it's so good that I didn't even notice them until after it was over.

Hokum came out last week. It retreads ground horror fans have seen a million times, but it has some of the best tension-building I've ever seen. If it weren't for the really annoying overabundant jump scares, it could have been great, but it's still really good, with a 40 minute stretch of near perfection in the middle.

Next week we get Passengers, which looks alright, and the week after, we get Backrooms, which is A24 and looks really damn cool.

If "Second Horror Film Renaissance" doesn't take off as a title, then either "Young Horror Renaissance" or "YouTuber Horror Renaissance" should. The director of Obsession is only 26, and the director of Backrooms is 20! Both were Youtubers, as are the Philippou brothers (Talk to Me and Bring Her Back), and Zach Creggor (Weapons and Barbarian) used to be a sketch comedy guy, which is pretty much the precursor to YouTube.

I loved Hokum but the jump scares I felt mostly built and furthered the story, but I'm really partial to jump scares. Silent Hill is mentioned below, but I got inklings of the Shinning too. My favorites part of Hokum are the gorgeous hotel, the use of the cherub faces, and the aware enough but clueless misanthropic American writer was also perfect in the story. I also loved Barbarian and Bring her Back, but I haven't seen Talk to Me and Weapons yet.

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