Just saw this other thread about the FNaF movie actually doing quite well at the box office, which apperently is much newsworthy and something I should care about. This here thing is popular, this and that is trending, read all about it. Yay. Well sure, it's quite nice they made their money back, but I felt it looked a bit overproduced and cookie-cutter like. Okay, haven't actually seen the blessed movie, but I've decided to hate it, so there!

I know about David Lynch, I know about Cronenberg, I know about J-horror, all that old stuff, but are there any contemporary horror movies which will screw me over? Something a bit more art-house and crazy? I've been a bit away from movie for the last decades, but I'm unsure if I'm out of the loop, or if there is anything to be out of the loop about.

So the discussion at https://tildes.net/~movies/1ar2/martin_scorsese_says_fight_back_against_comic_book_movie_culture_by_supporting_directors_like made me think about mainstream Hollywood way of movies versus - well everyone else? I am not even sure I like the term "arthouse" movies, because movies are movies regardless of the boxes we put them in, but for the sake of the argument movies that don't fall in the category of traditional mainstream storytelling. Is it just French artsy fartsy pretentious weirdness or is (quote) real cinema (unquote)?

I think my movie habits have been pretty average. I am not American, but most of what I have watched during my lifetime have been Hollywood productions. By a huge margin. In recent years I found myself going more and more bored with both movies and tv series from whatever the algorithms at the streaming services were pushing to me. Not that it was bad, just felt more and more like a product designed after a specific set of criteria aimed at my taste demographic. So I forced myself to break out of the bubble and watched movies totally outside my comfort zone with something I am sure the algorithms would never have recommended me. Started with movies by Kieslowski and Wong Kar-wai. And since then I feel like a whole new world of movies has opened up for me. Not that everything is magically great. There are still pretentious French movies that make me roll my eyes, but most of all it is something different. Story telling rules I thought couldn't be broken are thrown in the air and something completely unexpected appears on screen instead.

It takes some getting used to. I really struggled with a good deal of self-doubt whether I could actually understand these movies, because I have studied film theory or went to art school. At the end of the day it is really just about watching things intuitively and trying not to analyze everything or thinking about what things are supposed to mean, and be curious to why the movie does things that maybe the complete opposite of the film techniques I was used to from more mainstream movies.

This is not to bash at the Hollywood blockbuster way of filmmaking, because when that formula works - it really damn well works. But so can something completely different like Hlynur Pálmason's Godland, Haneke's Funny Games or Bujalski's Computer Chess - just to name a few of my recent very compelling movie experiences.

I'm at a bit of a crossroads. There's a show I really adore (two actually, it's complicated) because it has lots of characters that appeal to me as someone who never found a lot of characters I could really identify with. However, I've become distant from it recently because there's a big theatre/musical element to it that has become more pronounced over time, to the point where it kind of overshadows the rest of the show for me. I can't watch it now because when someone starts singing, I roll my eyes and turn it off. Musicals don't work for me typically because the logical side of me can't rationalize people singing about their worries, etc. in the context of something ostensibly meant to be taken seriously. It completely takes me out of it. Maybe it's just me, maybe it's some deep-seated childhood trauma, who knows.

That said, is there anyone who can perhaps offer some film musicals that they feel play well to a non-theatre nerd demographic? I've seen stuff like Rocky Horror and Cannibal! The Musical, which I didn't hate mostly because I adore Tim Curry and the South Park guys. I'm not about to jump on the La La Land bandwagon or something, though.

EDIT: Since some people pointed out that I didn't mention the title, the show(s) in question is Helluva Boss/Hazbin Hotel. You can find both on Youtube if you're curious. Be warned though, it's pretty R-rated and LGBT-oriented if that's not your thing.

To preface, I'm trying to find horror movies that may be considered more on the mild side, something that's more accessible to someone not familiar or comfortable with horror or thriller movies.
Happy Death Day and it's sequel are already on my list, especially since there doesn't appear to be overt nudity / sex and the language is mild.
I suppose it could be described as PG-13 horror, but even the Scream series is actually kinda mild on the gore/violence side of you really break it down, as they have a whodunit plot more than a "let's douse the protags in blood" vibe.

Oh and of course Tremors is always on every list of all time great movies.

We have about a million films showing vampires, zombies, werewolves, and ghosts.

But despite rich folklore traditions we see very few films about other creatures. There is a handful of films dealing with leprechauns, pixies, trolls, fairies, witches, goblins, gnomes, etc. And that's just the western traditions. We have huge range of unexplored creatures from around the world. If I had to sit through yet another vampire film I'd rather it was based on adze traditions than Bram Stoker reinventions.

Why are there so many films that tread the same ground about vampires, zombies, and ghosts, and so few films about everything else?

After reading the recent ArsTechnica review of the latest Godzilla movie, I realized that I haven't really dived into the Kaiju genre and it might make for a fun weekend to watch a few of what you all consider fun and good. I know I have seen Kaiju movies in the past but this was when I was younger so any memory is long and forgotten. I am also not averse to non-english language movies as long as the subtitling is good!

Any you recommend and why you would recommend them?