If Ghosts Are Real - Kairo vs. Gonjiam

 

Do you ever find yourself wondering what would happen if ghosts were real? What would they be like? Sometimes, when I have nothing better to do, my brain comes up with things like this. Which scenario is more likely to happen, Kairo or Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum? When I asked myself that question, I immediately thought Kairo seemed more plausible. I'm not even sure why I feel that way. I think it's because everything that happens in Gonjiam just seems too terrifying to ever really happen.

In Kairo, through the internet, ghosts begin to invade our world. People experience overwhelming despair and loneliness and are eventually spirited away. I never fully understood Kairo's explanation of how ghosts managed to enter our world through the internet, but it didn't matter because the emotions it brought on were so strong. I understand the concept of being spirited away, I've seen it in other media (for example, Fatal Frame 3). I could be completely wrong, but Kairo almost makes it seem as if the people who are spirited away are in such despair and feel so alone that they simply cease to exist. All that's left behind is a black shadow.

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is about a group of people who go explore, you guessed it, a haunted asylum while broadcasting the entire thing online. Although some of the scares are set up by the production crew, it soon becomes clear that they're not responsible for a lot of the creepy things that are happening.

If ghosts exist, even though they're downright evil in Gonjiam, at least they're isolated to one location. If you want to avoid them, you just never go to the asylum and you'll be safe (you can't now anyway because Gonjiam was actually torn down around the time of the movie's release). Whereas in Kairo, they're invading our world, you aren't safe anywhere. Maybe it's because I grew up on the internet and I remember how it used to be, but to me, of the two of these movies, Kairo does seem like the one that's more believable. If for no other reason than, if you take the ghosts out of the equation, it still seems like something that could happen. Maybe the ghosts are symbolic. Maybe I'm making no sense.

These are the only two ghost movies to actually scare me, but they did it in two completely different ways. Gonjiam is pure horror, it's tense and you never feel safe while you're watching it because the film does such a good job of attacking when you least expect it. You know it's coming, but it doesn't happen at the moment you think it will. Kairo, on the other hand, conveys a feeling of loneliness unlike anything I've ever experienced before. It was made at a time when the internet was fairly new, dialup still existed. This movie feeds into the kind of loneliness that I think a lot of people who spent a fair amount of time online back then felt.

At the end of the day, these are both really great horror films that are shining examples of how to do a ghost movie the right way. And I wouldn't want to experience either of them for myself. If ghosts are real, I hope they're more like the Casper variety.

Slow Burn vs. Action Horror

This post will seem like a direct comparison between Hereditary and Truth or Dare, but I swear it isn't meant to be. The comparison here is between horror that starts out very slow, with a lot of buildup and horror that is almost nonstop action, which works better (for me) and why. I also want to talk a bit about Truth or Dare without giving it its own post, because it doesn't deserve one. I would love to talk about Hereditary as well, but there is no possible way for me to talk about that film without giving away major spoilers and for that movie, you really need to experience it for yourself.

Let's start with Hereditary. This movie...There's so much I want to say, but I can't. The only things I can really say, that are still sort of SPOILER-ISH are that I was amazed when I went back and rewatched the movie, that there were so many hints that tell you exactly what is going on. If you go back and watch even the first 30 minutes again, you'll wonder how you ever missed that ending. The other slight spoiler I want to mention is that the ending really reminded me of the original Suspiria, but I wasn't mad about it. Suspiria is a movie that I love, up until the point where you find out what's really going on. I didn't feel like it worked in that film. In Hereditary, however, it was so perfect.

The only reason I watched Truth or Dare is because an episode of Running Man was inspired by it. It's very Final Destination-esque. A group of friends repeatedly have to escape death (by choosing truth or dare and completing their mission), in the order in which they played the game the first round. So here come the SPOILERS because this isn't really a movie I mind ruining for anyone. The ending isn't particularly clever or innovative (I could swear I've read stories with similar endings on r/nosleep), but I didn't hate it. Throughout the entire movie, Olivia and Markie talk about how they'll always choose each other above everyone and everything else, with the exception of Olivia's first truth (before the game went off the rails), which was would she choose to save her group of friends or the entire population of Mexico during an alien attack? She chose the population of Mexico, because her character is supposed to be "too nice" and that's the correct choice to make, right? Saving many over a few. However, at the end of the movie, Olivia once again tells Markie she chooses her, takes out her phone and records a video detailing the ordeal they've just been through, uploads it to Youtube and asks her viewers, "Truth or dare?" Because at this point, the girls have exhausted all their options and the only way to save each other is to get more people into the rotation so it takes longer for their turns to come around again. I guess Olivia is no longer saving the population of Mexico.

Now that we've talked a bit about both films, here's how I felt about each of them. I thought Hereditary was very slow, but had a satisfying conclusion. I kept checking my phone throughout the movie because not much happened, until the last 20 minutes or so. I was very creeped out and disturbed by the movie's conclusion and it's something that stayed with me for days after watching it. Truth or Dare had a lot of action and it did hold my attention, but it was a pretty ridiculous movie overall, it never actually scared me and it's something I'll never think about again once I'm done writing this post.

So which is better? There honestly isn't a definitive answer because it depends entirely on if it's done right. It Comes at Night and The Blair Witch Project are both examples of films that, in my opinion, had a lot of buildup with very unsatisfying endings. Hereditary worked so well because you can clearly see, once everything is revealed, that the film was always headed towards that conclusion. And once it reached it, it was horrifying. It was worth every second I sat there thinking, "I hope this is going somewhere amazing and I didn't waste my time watching it." Because that's usually what ends up happening for me with these types of movies. They're slow and the ending never makes up for it.

The same goes for more action oriented horror films. If you want to get into a really specific sub-genre, action oriented horror films about a group of college friends going on vacation together, who end up playing truth or dare and screwing over the entire world. Let's talk about Cabin in the Woods, a beautiful loveletter to the horror genre. It is extremely heavy on the action for a good portion of the film and it never lets up. It completely goes off the deep end later on in the movie, in the best possible way. It's a thoroughly enjoyable horror film and it worked very well. These types of movies can be extremely clever when done correctly.

As usual, I don't have an answer to the question posed. Everything is on a case by case basis, you can't judge one movie based on another. They're all unique, some work and more often than not, some don't, but it's extremely satisfying when you find one that hits all the right marks and manages to surprise you.

Favorite Fall Candles to Light on a Crisp, Dark Fall Night

I know this is a horror blog, but there are certain things that I associate with horror. If I'm sitting home reading a scary story, my ideal atmosphere for it would be a dark, rainy night, with just the fairy lights on to read by, and a fall scented candle burning.

I've been a loyal customer of Candles By Victoria for years now. I won't buy candles anywhere else. Their candles are really good quality with a strong scent throw and you can see how much loves goes into them. They have all different jars to house the candles in, you can choose whichever you'd like in any of their available scents, and on top of that, they also make decorative candles in specific scents and they are beautiful. (I actually had to stop buying the decorative candles because I felt so bad burning them.) In addition to candles, they also offer room sprays, as well as scent shots if you prefer using a tart warmer rather than burning candles.

I'm terrible at describing scents myself, so below I'll list my favorites with the descriptions from the CBV website, as well as link to some of their decorative fall candles.

These first three are combos that I get in Victoria's Create a Scent candles. You get to choose two scents you think might work well together and she'll mix them for you. You also get to name the candle. And if you choose one of the glitter tureen CAS candles (my personal favorite), you can choose which color glitter you'd like.

Granny's Pie Crust + Caramel Apple - I don't really need to add the descriptions for each scent here, they're exactly what they sound like. I love both of these scents on their own, but they're even better together and this is a CAS that I'll continue to order in the future.

Apple Cider + Cinnamon Donuts - Again, no description necessary. I ordered this CAS because I was thinking about things that remind me of Halloween, and the first thing I thought of was the haunted hayride I used to go to with my cousins when I was younger. At the end of the hayride, they would always hand out apple cider and cinnamon donuts, so those are the two scents I chose and of course, I named this candle Haunted Hayride.

Bonfire Bliss + Country Bumpkin - "Gentle, dusky breezes and bonfires, with notes of dried wind-blown leaves, heliotrope, charred woods of pine and cedar, amber, smoky sandalwood, on a musky background containing hints of roasted marshmallows, brown sugar, coconut and soft vanillas" mixed with "Apples, candied yams, marshmallows, sweet cream butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, crushed cinnamon, bark and fresh cloves." This is an extremely strong scent, and I've ordered this CAS at least three times now, possibly four. It's my favorite scent, you can smell the fire and spices, perfect to burn on a cold, rainy fall night.

The next three scents can be bought in candles or scent shots, in many different designs.

Apples & Oaks - "It's fall all year round as you sit on the porch with a barrel of granny smith apples. You catch the breeze as it picks up not only the smell of the apples, but of the aged oak barrel housing them." This smells exactly like what you would expect.

Autumn Leaves - "Green and musky with heavy notes of bergamot." Literally smells like wet leaves.

Pumpkin Apple Cinnamon Bread - "Sweet creamy pumpkin, rich cinnamon apple with a crunchy strudel base note." This one has all three of the main fall scents and it's amazing.

The rest of these candles are some of Victoria's decorative candles. I have owned all o them in the past and I highly recommend them, if you won't feel guilty burning them like I did. I'll include links and pictures from the CBV website below.

Bake Shoppe Donut Shop Candle - This candle comes in Victoria's Cinnamon Donuts scent. The design isn't reminiscent of fall (it's still adorable though), but the scent definitely is.

Coffee Cup Cutie Leaves Type Candle - This candle is housed in a coffee cup, topped with glitter and tiny wax leaves. It's in the scent Leaves Type, which is described as "Rich Autumn notes of fresh ground cinnamon generously sprinkled over tasty dried apple peel. Allspice, fresh clove bud, and drips of Vermont maple complete this festive aroma." This one almost reminds me of the way a craft store smells if you walk in during the fall season, and I mean that in the best possible way.

Comfort Caramel Gingered Apple Crisp - The description for this candle states that it includes maple, caramel, ginger and apple cinnamon. Wax apple slices are embedded into the top of the candle.

Comfort Pumpkin Gingerbread Splash - A mix of maple, gingerbread and spiced pumpkin chutney, this candle features a gingerbread man who looks like he's bathing in the wax.

Maple Butter Pumpkin Frap - If you're one of those people who runs to Starbucks as soon as they start selling their pumpkin spice latte, this is the candle for you. It's a huge candle, 24 ounces, and features maple crumbs, wax pumpkins and real cinnamon sprinkled on top.

If you enjoy candles as much as I do, I definitely recommend checking out Candles By Victoria. I've purchased more candles and scent shots from them than I want to admit and I have been happy with every order. They're a great company and you'll be glad you ordered from them.