🍖 Cannibals & Cie. (2022) 🎼 Trent Reznor 🏅 Top 100

"Nothin' happened for a few years. I relaxed. You had to start school and I thought... I thought you wouldn't do it in public. But you got clever. So fucking clever."

There was a moment near the end of this film when I got very nervous and flinchy. There are a lot of possible endings, and some would have been devastating. Then I remembered something about every Luca Guadagnino film I have seen, and if you don’t want to know mild thematic spoilers related to Call me by your name and Suspiria 2018, now’s the time to skip the blockquote.

I’ve never seen him be snide or cynical with primary characters. Even the ones that are antagonists have something compassionate going for them. Suspiria 2018 ended in a way that was *so much better*, for me at least, than the original Suspiria. Both have endings that are, on the whole, good. But Guadagnino takes this much further. He’s written a story centered not around who the witches are, in the end, but about who Susie Bannon is and who she always was or might become. The film is grounded in her, and the level of craft and respect he shows each part of his film, he also shows his characters. It’s wonderful to be able to relax and trust a director—some movies, you want to be able to let down your guard a bit and actually take the time to enjoy them.

Along with this, the characters have interactions that feel real. Here, when someone says something off, instead of moving along with the plot, Taylor Russell’s Maren notices it, pauses, and says “I’m having trouble believing you because…” or “Is that what this is actually about?” In other words, she’s designed to be a whole human who, except for the need to eat human flesh to, apparently, avoid smelling bad, is treated like one.

All of these three films have real dark moments in their endings, and somehow it always pivots to an ending that is satisfying and honors the characters.

Bones and All is much more like Call me by your name than Suspiria. It feels like a cannibal road-trip love story. There are long passages that feel like that beautiful stretch near the end of Call me by your name where they escape into the wilds and for a brief moment, their relationship is perfect. But it can’t exist that way permanently; normal life eventually has demands, and there is a hard moment in each that follows. Some compromise is found in each, however bitter. Reality remains livable.

Forgive me if I got anything off with Call me by your name; it’s been a long time. Certainly in Suspiria 2018 and here, the protagonists find a way to move forward with life as it extends past the film’s chosen point of conclusion.

The same level of craft used to create his characters is there in the cinematography and music. The opening sequences of Bones and All are absolutely beautiful; there’s a series of shots climbing down the side of a house that are just perfect in the way they handle shadow and light. Often this film takes place surrounded by natural beauty—more often the wilds than the suburbs, but they’re both well filmed. Which, by the way, this was shot on, happily.

Trent Reznor's soundtrack was, honestly, unrecognizable as Trent Reznor until I remembered it was his and started paying attention. Then it sounds exactly like Trent Reznor, but with very different mood and instrumentation. It was very fun to remember that it was his and then start to catch how it made sense. It’s an enjoyable soundtrack. It is not one that calls attention to itself or stands out, but that’s not what this was made for. Trent Reznor has always been a craftsman too. The music is supporting the film, and it does it successfully, and that’s enough.

I found most of this film very charming and moving. I loved Call me by your name, and I loved the horror of Suspiria 2018, and here is a perfect hybrid: all the romance of the former, all the gore and grit of the latter. And, in all three of them, the same poetry.

Recommended. A lot.

Some Lists:

🍖 Cannibals & Cie. (Ranked) | 🎭 Drama Ranked
🎼 Spotlight on Composers in Horror
🪜 2022 Horror & Thrillers Ranked
💎 Slightly Hidden Horror Gems and 🌱 Candidates
📽️ Viewing Next | 🗂️ Index of Lists (needs an update)

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