Hey everyone, I hope you’re having a good week so far! Also, it’s a friend of mine’s birthday, so happy birthday to her! 🎈🎉✨
Before these past few weeks, I hadn’t really been watching Netflix, because I’ve been trying to read more, plus I was busy with work, writing, and trying to get together with Nick. However, now IÂ wanted to talk about what I’ve been watching on Netflix recently, because they’ve all been interesting in their own special way.
The Punisher
The first show I want to talk about is Marvel’s The Punisher. I’ve only seen the first season, so if you’ve seen the second season NO SPOILERS.
The Punisher follows Frank Castle who avenges his family’s murders by killing those who are responsible, while also becoming a vigilante for justice and killing those who he deems deserve it based on his moral code. In the process, he uncovers conspiracies about the depth of corruption committed by the U.S. during his time in the military’s special forces unit over in Afghanistan.
Even though I’m not a huge fan of Marvel, or of superhero type stuff in general, I enjoyed watching The Punisher, probably because it isn’t your typical superhero show. Frank Castle is essentially a tortured soul fueled by his need to avenge his family’s death. I was going to say he was a regular human being, but he did receive training in the military special forces, so that gives him some edge over your normal person. It is a rather gory and violent show, so if that’s not your thing, I would either skip this entirely, or just be cautious while watching.
Ghosts of Sugarland
The second film I watched was a short documentary called Ghosts of Sugar Land. It was a winner at the Sundance Film Awards, and only 21 minutes long, so I figured why not watch it?
The premise is interesting, as it is about a group of friends reflecting on a friend of their’s (who they call “Mark” throughout the documentary), who they believe may have disappeared and joined ISIS. Throughout the documentary, the interviewees are wearing masks to hide their identities, as they believe their association with “Mark” and the documentary can negatively impact their lives.
Ghosts of Sugarland had the potential to go in depth on topics such as what it’s like growing up as a Muslim in the United States, but because it was so short, it was almost a shallow overview of the idea. The length of the documentary also affected how much we got to know of “Mark” and how he even got to where he is now. At the end of the documentary, the filmmakers do reveal “Mark’s” true identity, so it almost seems pointless to have the interviewees wear masks, because in this day and age, it’s easier than ever to research “Mark” and find out the identity of the interviewees. If they were trying to protect their identities, I don’t know how well that’s going to work out now for them.
Overall, the documentary wasn’t as insightful as I was hoping it would be, and I was disappointed in the lack of depth when it had so much potential to do so with the story of “Mark”. If you’re thinking about watching this I would just suggest skipping it, unless you are just looking for something to do for 21 minutes.
Haunters: The Art of the Scare
The final film I’m going to talk about is another documentary, but this time on the subject of the creative community behind haunted houses. Haunters: The Art of the Scare focuses mainly on two different haunted houses (Nightmare on Loganberry by Donald Julson and McKamey Manor by Russ McKamey) and seasoned scare actor, Shar Mayer. They also discuss other haunted attractions, such as Universal Studios Horror Nights and a newer haunted attraction called Blackout.
I enjoyed hearing about the different haunted attractions, and thought some of them sounded fun to experience, such as the haunted houses that are more like interactive plays with story lines. I also thought it was cool having to Shar Mayer’s perspective as someone who’s worked in many different haunted attractions for so long, and I enjoyed hearing about her career and its evolution over the years. Donald Julson also has an interesting perspective, as he stays closer to the more traditional form of a haunted house, and has a more critical opinion of haunted houses that are straying from the idea of “No touching, hitting or grabbing those who are visiting the haunted house.” Russ McKamey on the other hand, goes to the extreme.
By just signing a waiver and with a payment of dog food (he explains in the documentary the whole reasoning behind this) you too can end up being locked in a coffin, experiencing water boarding, or having your own blood/ vomit shoved back into your mouth (I know, disgusting). Not only that, Russ films the experience, and then posts it online to show the world. There has been a lot of controversy about Mckamey Manor, and upon further research, after the documentary was released, there have been investigations into the legality of what Russ is doing. Personally, I would never want to walk through Mckamey Manor, as it doesn’t seem as though the safety of the visitor is of priority, and the way Russ talks about how important it is to get the ideal shot of someone experiencing that level of fear is almost disturbing when you hear him talk about it.
Despite all of that, I think this is one documentary that’s entertaining, thought provoking, and I wholeheartedly recommend it, especially with Halloween coming up.
I hope you found some good Netflix recommendations, and if you have any yourself, let me know down below! Thanks for reading, and have an awesome Thursday 😉
–Erin 🎃
Twitter: @ENordhof
Prose: https://theprose.com/ennord
Instagram:Â @eclectic_erin87
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/99734662-erin-nordhof
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/eclecticerin87/
Eclectic Erin 