by Alice-Ginevra Micheli, Contributing Writer
We all have that feeling. You know the one: You finish watching a movie and something about it hits you in just the right spot.
Whether it was the theme, the story, or even the characters, there was a quality about it that almost makes you want to turn around and go back a second, third, or even fourth time!
Bar the reality of living in the movie theater for the rest of your days, you turn to the rest of pop culture and start to look for other avenues where you can find that same feeling.
Well I’m here to make this plight easier for all. Each month, I take a piece of pop culture that was prevalent in the social consciousness — whether it is a movie, TV show, or something else — and then recommend other forms of media for those who want to stay in that world a little bit longer.
Welcome to your One Stop Pop, internet!
August is when the world starts preparing for the end of the year. The weather gets cooler, the moods get lower, and time gets shorter — which is probably why there were so many horror or horror-adjacent films that made their way to our screens this month. However, the one I want to focus on today is Blink Twice, Zoë Kravitz’s debut creepy look into a rich man’s private island.
I’m not going to go into the specifics as to why this has taken over my brain, and by far been the most impactful watch of August, but it’s definitely worth focusing on — and if you haven’t yet seen it, I strongly recommend you find the time too. However, we will be looking at media that will help evoke similar feelings of discomfort, and will… make you blink twice if you will.
Well, without further ado, let’s get started…
Book: Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
This is the only book that I have ever thrown across the room due to the way the plot disentangles. That alone would be all I’d ordinarily say when giving this recommendation; however, given this is a column, and we need a little more description, let me dive in further.
The story follows Louise, a single mom and secretary, who is stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man, David, in a bar and sparks fly. Seems simple enough, right? She also makes a new friend, the glamorous Adele, and the two in turn become very close, very fast. The only problem? Adele is married to David, who also happens to be Louise’s new boss.
This is all shaping up to be a fun-filled comedy of errors, something that you think would just be a romance/friendship story full of zany twists and turns. Well the twists and turns part is right, but what the book does instead is turn this frolicking tale into a tense, psychological thriller of deception, mind-alteration, and conspiracy.
Impossible to put down, and very readable, Behind Her Eyes has lots of the something-isn’t-quite-right-here tone that Blink Twice brings to the screen, and an ending that might have just as many people openly gaping at what they have experienced.
TV Show: Yellowjackets
For no reason whatsoever, I’m going to now recommend something that has bucketloads of feminine rage. Feminine rage and cannibalism, that is.
Yellowjackets takes place between two different points in time, following a girl’s soccer team as they become the survivors of a catastrophic plane crash. One follows them immediately following the crash, and the depths of desperation they are led to in order to abate death, while the other looks at them 25 years later as the remaining team members still deal with the consequences of their living.
Let’s be clear: This is a difficult show to watch. Whether it’s the stark survival horror, or the present existential dread, there are many elements that may, and likely will, make a viewer incredibly uncomfortable — then, of course, there is the aforementioned cannibalism.
However, the way in which the character development takes place, along with the mastery in performance by both the younger and adult casts, are worth the price of streaming admission alone.
Epic, disastrous, and horrifying, Yellowjackets is a great pick for anyone who’s ever wanted to run into the woods and scream.
Podcast: They Walk Among Us
We’ve explored mystery, and disaster. Taking into account the more bloody elements that may or may not be present in Blink Twice, it might be prudent to shift gears into one of the most dominant forms of auditory media: the murder podcast.
A husband and wife team lead this month’s recommendation with They Walk Among Us, a podcast that looks at crime in the UK, but with a twist. Their focus is on the personal crimes, the ones that victims would expect the least. As quoted from their website they delve “into the crimes that are close to home, the criminal who sleeps beside you, lives next door, or delivers your newspaper.”
Multi-award-winning, and having ventured into the publishing world with their recent book release, there are a few different series you can choose from based on your murderous preference.
With nine seasons to delve into, all told in a wondrous storytelling fashion, there is plenty to accompany anyone looking to go for a long walk — preferably not in abandoned woods — or to keep them company as they get ready for bed, in their hopefully very safe house.
Video Game: Doki Doki Literature Club!
Now this recommendation might seem like a bit of a strange change of pace. However, I can’t exactly tell you whether or not you’re wrong as that would be potentially spoiling your experience.
The game is Doki Loki Literature Club!,and from the outside, it takes the form of a typical Japanese dating sim. You’re playing a new member of a school club made up of your typical anime-type characters: the youthful bundle of sunshine, the “tsundere,” the shy girl, and the other boisterous “main character.”
You get to know each of them and learn about their various backstories when it comes to who they really are, what happened in their past, and how that may or may not affect you in the future.
However, as you can imagine by its inclusion in this list, there is something else beneath the surface. Not recommended for children or those who are easily disturbed, this has some themes in common with the famous anime School Days, which also pulled the wool over its audience’s eyes due to its over the top kawaii presentation.
The main thing is not to let the cutesy nature of the game’s presentation fool you. This 2D game has some 3D thematic explorations happening, and it is sure to remain with you long after the credits roll — much like with Blink Twice.
This has been a creepy month for sure, perfect as we enter the spookier times of the season. All in all, these are recommendations that aren’t all what they seem from the outset, just like our movie of the month.
So whether you want to dive into a novel about double identities, a podcast about local killers, a game about a harmless school club or a show about a lost soccer team, hopefully something sated that taste of blood in your mouth.
October’s column will see us delve into something altogether different. So until then, thank you for visiting SiftPop’s One Stop Pop — we hope to see you again soon!
You can read more from Alice-Ginevra Micheli, and follow her on Instagram and Letterboxd