EARWIG *UPDATED*

Earwig might be Lucile Hadžihalilović’s darkest film. Both in subject matter (a young girl is kept inside of a house and isn’t allowed to leave) and the look (a large majority of the film is darkly lit and just all around murky). And that’s saying something because her previous films aren’t exactly “light” or easy to digest. I think because Innocence (2004) & Evolution (2015) look so beautiful and feature mostly children, we don’t immediately register how heavy those films are. Earwig takes the heaviness from her previous films and adds some additional weight (Hadžihalilović continues her trend of working with mostly child actors as well).
Instead of opening shots of a beautiful forest (Innocence) or the ocean (Evolution), Hadžihalilović throws the audience head-first in to a musty room as a fly on the wall to observe our tortured caretaker (“Albert”) who’s job is to look after a young girl (“Mia”) with teeth made of ice (ice made out of dentures Albert makes from the saliva Mia produces). Their world is eventually interrupted when Albert is forced to finally let Mia outside of her confines.


The surrealism of Earwig is very subdued and matter-of-factly. This makes things all the more disorienting because you kind of forget you’re watching this almost realistic approach to this dark fairytale about a creepy little girl with teeth made of ice.


This is something that will definitely be referred to as "Lynchian" by lazy journalists. While Hadžihalilović herself has admitted in the past to being influenced by Lynch:

I was influenced by Cronenberg and Lynch, because at school, when I was 20, I grew up with their films - Lucile Hadžihalilović, Film Comment

She’s even referenced specific moments from specific Lynch films that influenced her...

What a hyper-moving performance from Jack Nance, playing Henry Spencer as he struggles with a terrifying, inhuman, yet touching baby. The film created mysteries and a fascination that remains intact after almost half of a century - Lucile Hadžihalilović, Vice

Eraserhead /
Evolution

...Earwig is in no way “Lynchian” which has now become the default stock description that everyone uses to describe something mildly “weird”...

I understand why (journalists) do that. Maybe in 20 years they’ll start saying my films are Hadžihalilovićian - Lucile Hadžihalilović, Dazed

To my surprise, the real (cinematic) influence on Earwig is Chantal Akerman’s tediously paced Jeanne Dielman.

One was JEANNE DIELMAN (1975), the Chantal Akerman film, because of all these ordinary actions that Delphine Seyrig carries out in the film and that our protagonist, Albert, also carries out - Lucile Hadžihalilović, BFI

It makes a lot of sense when you compare certain specific moments between the two films:

Jeanne Dielman / Earwig

Jeanne Dielman / Earwig

Jeanne Dielman / Earwig

The emphasis of dentures and fucked up teeth felt like a callback to Francis Dolarhyde in Manhunter:

Manhunter /
Earwig

The Embryo Hunts In Secret was another point of reference/inspiration for Earwig...

The other one was The Embryo Hunts in Secret (1966) by Koji Wakamatsu. It’s a Japanese film from the 60s about a man who kidnaps a woman and keeps her in an empty apartment with no furniture - Lucile Hadžihalilović, BFI

The Embryo Hunts In Secret /
Earwig

The Embryo Hunts In Secret /
Earwig

The Embryo Hunts In Secret /
Earwig

The Embryo Hunts In Secret /
Earwig

A possible nod to Nicolas Roeg?

Don't Look Now / Earwig

Don't Look Now / Earwig

I enjoyed Earwig and I appreciate Lucile Hadžihalilović taking a more traditional approach to the horror/psychological horror genre all while still maintaining her genuinely weird style. Earwig feels like what all those A24/Neon horror films try to do but just end up coming off very surface & heavy-handedly. Unlike a lot of today's horror filmmakers, Hadžihalilović makes it very clear here that she isn't concerned about making a ton of sense (this is a warning for folks who are looking for something totally traditional). She's more focused about creating a feeling. Even with all of her (minor) cinematic influences, not many people are making movies like Hadžihalilović.

I don’t think this is as strong as her previous works but Innocence & Evolution are almost “perfect” as far as I’m concerned. She’s allowed to make an “8 out of 10” which isn’t too shabby.

NOPE

I’m surprised PeTA hasn’t tried to hijack Jordan Peele’s Nope as the unofficial movie for their sometimes warped mission statement. This movie is new so I don’t want to get in to any spoilers but at the end of the day the film is mostly about the potential dangers of trying to “tame the beast” (horses, monkeys, mysterious lifeforms, etc). I promise I haven’t checked yet but I’m sure there’s already an assessment or two on Nope that has to do with animal abuse.

Not only does this movie play off of the famous phrase; “tame the beast”, but it also takes the phrase; “belly of the beast” quite literally at one point in a scene reminiscent of the climax in Pinocchio…

I enjoyed Nope overall but if easter egg-y/reference-heavy movies aren’t your thing (a Jordan Peele staple some folks aren’t too crazy about despite his immense overall popularity as a filmmaker), you might want to avoid this. That almost feels like a pointless statement because, like I just mentioned, Jordan Peele is very popular and I imagine most folks will see this without much coaxing.

Nope falls in line perfectly with the rest of Peele’s filmography. The basic plot is different from Get Out & Us, but it still touches on some of the same broad topics (social commentary & subtle nods to somewhat vague issues concerning race, the importance of family and tons of obvious movie references). Peele’s latest is a major improvement from Us (Nope is, in my opinion, his best paced movie thus far). I’m sorry but Us made no sense. I don’t care if I’m in the minority on this. And for folks who think that’s a weak excuse to dislike a movie, I call bullshit in this specific case because Jordan Peele clearly tried to connect the dots and have the film make (some) sense and I don’t think he succeeded. I understand Jordan Peele is a fan-favorite but it’s ok to admit when something didn’t work. You won’t lose any made-up film twitter or letterboxd points for giving a fair critique of something that’s popular.

Anyway, from the scissors on Jupe’s desk (an obvious nod to the scissors in Us) to the visual homages to folks like Spielberg & James Cameron, Jordan Peele does the Tarantino thing in a not-so obnoxious way…

The Forgotten /
Nope

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind / Nope

The War Of The Worlds /
Nope

A similarity pointed out to me by Toronto Film review:
 10 Cloverfield Lane /
Nope

This movie is new so I don’t have the images or gifs to show yet but the final act of Nope is essentially a slightly reworked final showdown from Jaws meets The Abyss (click here & here to read my thoughts on Get Out & Us and to see more of Peele’s movie references).

The Abyss / Nope

Peele even throws in a pinch of Pinocchio 

Pinocchio / Nope

If you keep your eye open (maybe on the second viewing) you’ll catch a nod to Buck and the Preacher.
I’m also convinced the casting of Keith David was a specific nod to his appearances in sci-fi classics like The Thing and They Live (I don’t want to give too much away but there are some similarities between the mysterious organism in The Thing and the entity in Nope). Black people as background players in Hollywood seems to be an underlying theme in Nope…

The Horse In Motion

It should be pointed out that Jordan Peele makes a few incorrect claims about the history of The Horse In Motion short film that he prominently features in Nope but it is still an important early artifact, and the technology used to make the short kind of comes in to play towards the end of the movie.

I guess I should also mention the most obvious homage…

The Wizard Of Oz /
Nope

What stood out the most to me in Nope was the “Gordy’s Home” subplot concerning Steven Yeun’s Jupe character. The way these flashback segments are shot are a bit different from the rest of the movie and is the kind of lane that I think I’ve always wanted Jordan Peele to follow as a director (darkly comical with an emphasis on the dark part). The “Gordy’s Home” section is the closest thing anyone has directed for folks like me that were brought up on Clifford (1994) & Bob Balaban’s Parents with pinches of the unspoken twisted side to sitcoms like Different Stokes & Small Wonder (with an obvious nod to Alf as well). 

Jupe’s backstory ties in heavily to the main plot of Nope in that he felt he could tame the beast in his adult life the same way he thought he tamed the beast from his childhood (I have to credit my wife for that point). 

Something about “Gordy’s Home” reminded me of the good sketches from Key & Peele (I wish Peele embraced more of his comedic roots). 

Nope is a success in my book that shows growth as a filmmaker. I just worry the more “prestigious” folks make Jordan Peele out to be, the more pretentious he may become.

A FEW MORE WORDS ON CRIME WAVE *UPDATED*

Well, I had already appeared in my short films in the central roles doing this kind of Buster Keaton stone face thing. Really, I just kept going with what I thought had been working for me - John Paizs, notcoming.com

Steamboat Bill Jr / Crime Wave

My fascination with John Paizs’ Crime Wave has bled over in to 2022 (I guess you could also say the same thing about modern Canadian cinema on a whole as I have pretty much been posting/writing about Canadian films for the last few months).

After posting my thoughts on his feature debut last year (which you can read by clicking here), I discovered even more direct & indirect visual similarities that I thought I’d share with you all.


Enjoy…

Crime Wave / The Kids In The Hall

Crime Wave / The Kids In The Hall

Bruce McCulloch (and the other Kids) really dug CRIME WAVE, and wanted to see whether my style might mesh with theirs in some of their sketches - John Paizs, theskinnymag.com

*BONUS* a similar moment between an earlier John Paizs short film and a kids in the hall sketch...

The International Style / The Kids In The Hall

Crime Wave / The Kids In The Hall

Bruce McCulloch is the reason I got involved with The Kids in the Hall. He saw CRIME WAVE on pay TV and really liked it, so he got their producers to find me. And it was very lucky for me. It really changed the course of my life - John Paizs, canuxploitation.com

The Three Lives Of Thomasina /
Crime Wave

60s live-action Disney films also had their impact, in particular THE THREE LIVES OF THOMASINA and THAT DARN CAT. I drew heavily from them for CRIME WAVE! - John Paizs, notcoming.com

That Darn Cat /
Crime Wave

I loved the Technicolor look of Rear Window [1954], Leave Her To Heaven [1945] - John Paizs, Slate

Rear Window /
Crime Wave

Rear Window /
Crime Wave

Rear Window /
Crime Wave

Leave Her To Heaven /
Crime Wave

Quite possibly Fellini's 8 1/2. I'd certainly seen it before writing Crime Wave, and it may well have influenced me, subconsciously anyway, in that regard. It does have similar kinds of fantastical interactions. And hey, it's also about writer's block! - John Paizs, Slate

8-1/2 / Crime Wave

Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt was a big influence, no question - John Paizs, brooklynrail.org

Shadow Of A Doubt / Crime Wave

Shadow Of A Doubt / Crime Wave

If Uncle Charlie had murdered prose instead of widows it would have been almost the same movie! I got the whole darkness-in-a- small-town framework from that movie, plus the two Charlies' relationship has a definite parallel - John Paizs, matchboxcineclub.com

Shadow Of A Doubt / Crime Wave

Another possible subconscious Hitchcock influence appears later on in the film...

North By Northwest / Crime Wave

North By Northwest / Crime Wave

Meet Me in St. Louis has always stood out for me as a particularly evocative use of Technicolor - John Paizs, notcoming.com

Meet Me In St. Louis / Crime Wave