Logs:Avant-Garde Horror

Avant-Garde Horror
Dramatis Personae Gaétan, Spencer
In Absentia	2024-10-23 "Tthe strategic nightmare fuel reserves are strong."
Location <NYC> Gaétan & ???'s Apartment - East Village
This is a nice-but-not-extravagant apartment in a nice-but-not-extravagant building. Well-lit throughout, it's furnished in classical grays, livened with shades of green and softened with genteel clutter. The decorating is eclectic, but not so eclectic as to appear busy, trending toward performing arts posters and playbills, with scatterings of more mainstream pop culture memorabilia as well as a few pieces of original art. The living room is larger than the kitchen which is larger than the dining room, all in one open L-shaped space that brackets two bedrooms and a smaller office set up as a streaming room. This movie has been playing for a while, and so far -- it's hard to say what's been happening. The screen is currently dark. The screen has been mostly dark for most of this movie. Someone might be talking, but then again, they might not, the muffled sound makes it hard to tell. The captions insist that someone is talking, and Gae, comfortable in jeans and a plain black tee, is watching the screen earnestly enough to suggest he is following along with the complete and utter lack of plot on screen. "-- I could definitely see this movie on loop in -- like that film exhibit we went to at the Guggenheim in spring?" From his tone it is clear that this is meant to be a compliment. Spence is sitting cross-legged beside his friend on the couch, in black jeans and a pale blue t-shirt emblazoned with Captain America's shield, the kippah on his head styled as a cheerful smiling yellow sun. He has also been watching the screen earnestly, his face cycling regularly through expressions of skepticism, perplexity, and incredulity. "Oh yeah, it is a lot like that! The piece was about...alienation? Or something. I kinda didn't get it," he admits sheepishly, smooshing hard at the mass of magnetic ball bearings he's been fidgeting with. "Was that scary? To you. Is this scary?" He suddenly sounds uncertain. "It's supposed to be scary, right?" "I --" Gaétan leans forward to grab a small handful of popcorn. He settles back, munching a kernel and peering at the grainy-dark image of a child standing in a hallway. "It's innovative. And think it's really creating an atmosphere without relying on so many of the standard horror tropes." Spence squints slightly at the screen, perhaps in hopes of spotting the innovation in the grainy-dark image of a hallway ceiling. "So it's...postmodern." It's hard to tell whether this is a question or an observation. "Is the atmosphere the horror or do we have to supply the horror? Oh! Maybe it's gonna be like, an hour and a half of atmosphere and then jumpscares all the way down." He frowns. "No wait that's a standard horror trope." "We've had plenty enough horror to supply." Gae crunches more of his popcorn, shooting a small glance at Spence. "If you want to be more scared I could find you something more scary. You seen In a Violent Nature? It's kind of a slow burn but the payoff is --" He stops and considers, frowning at the screen. "... maybe also kind of arty. But," he's quick to reassure, "in a completely different direction." Spence smiles, grim but not unamused. "Yeah, the strategic nightmare fuel reserves are strong." His smile fades a little when he glances aside at Gae, but he quickly covers(?) this by scooping up some popcorn for himself and looking excited about Actual Movement happening in the film. Not just movement, but light! It's a still shot of the top half of a television screen showing an old-timey cartoon that's also hard to follow because it's too bright. "I haven't seen that either." He hesitates, thinking hard. "Maybe we can watch it after this one? I mean, I don't get it, but that's okay, sometimes art is like that. Oh, and maybe I will get it by the end!" There is some kind of CRT-era screen problem happening to the cartoons in the film, as if to defy Spence's optimism. Spence's optimism, however, is not so easily assailed. "Anyway, you like it." "I like it," Gaétan agrees easily, but as some small conciliation regarding his Artistic Sensibilities adds with a mild self-deprecation: "... but I also liked Snowpiercer." He flips his phone over briefly to check the time, and then look over at Spence. "Could watch it after this one. You planning to get back to school tonight?" He is twisting around, reaching up to his mantel above the couch to snack a small packet of weed gummies that he is offering up together with this question. "Avant-garde scary movie night!" Spence drops his voice to a whisper, still louder and clearer than any dialogue in the film they're atmospherically experiencing. "The real horror is popular acclaim. I didn't have any pla --" He breaks off and flips his phone over briefly to check the date. "Okay good yes, I'm on a short break between halachically mandated rejoicings, let's do this." He plucks the packet from Gae's hand. "This is also rejoicing! Not because of weed though I guess that helps but the rejoicing is doing a cool thing with someone who isn't gonna roll his eyes when I say a shehecheyanu over it..." He ducks his head, but if he's blushing it's too dark to see. "...and who probably did not need me to explain that." "This cannot be your first weed this year," Gaétan is protesting, but then stopping and thinking harder about it. "-- wait I guess your year's pretty new." He takes a gummy after Spence has, and opens his eyes wiiide to better demonstrate, in the dimness, their complete lack of Roll. "I know up to haolam, let's bless this --" His brow furrows. "Moment."