Obsession

for 1. bear is a rapist. idk how anyone can read the movie any other way.  making a point to highlight his inability to take action is sososo realistic to how real rapists behave. sniveling pathetic cowards who always take the easy way out and can only think about themselves when it comes to their actions. he hears niki begging to be set free, to be killed. anytime the real nikki is able to exercise a silver of autonomy she uses it to self harm/ask for death/attempt. suicide is often depicted as a selfless act in movies especially in horror but it’s flipped on its head in this movie. him killing himself in the end to absolve him of the consequences of his actions/wish is his final act of selfishness and cowardice. it’s also a very dreadful but real depiction of how victims of rape are the ones who are left to pick up the pieces. nikki is such an interesting character in the same way a lot of my favorite characters are written ! just barely enough text given about them that you’re able to make your own conclusions about their place in the narrative (ie. jackie taylor, laura palmer, rachel amber). nikki is so humanized in the beginning of the film. we see her compassion, charisma, and wants. the whole friendgroup feels like fully fleshed out, flawed, and human characters for that matter ! it makes it all the more heartbreaking when nikki is stripped of her autonomy and forced to perform as a demented shell of herself for bear.  this is such a Gen Z and refreshing take on horror movies and says something about enmeshed Gen Z friendgroups and how we now navigate connections and communities. the friendgroup’s inability to communicate enables the worst in bear. each character (aside from nikki who is more so the narrative itself and an ultimate victim) shares a selfish streak with how they withhold information and fear being seen as “selfish” or “bad”. a lot of my bits are disjointed but these are just stream of consciousness take aways. I’ve seen a couple interviews of the director’s intent and immm nottt sure I fully agree with them ? At least I didn’t walk away with the same conclusions. I love when movies leave me with so much to chew on and I can’t wait to see what he does next !! he wants to apparently make Texas chainsaw relatable again ?? whateva that means ???? HAHAHA edit: this is like lego ninjago skybound if jay was even more rapey in it