Favorite Movie: A Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Favorite Episode: The Hills Have Eyes (2x14)
Most Relevant: Silent Night, Deadly Night (2x09 + 1984)
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Welcome back to me gradually losing my mind. We've gone past fun idea and are solidly in the slog part of this project, and I keep wondering why God why. Heads up: this post is almost twice as long as the last one. Enjoy!
2x01: A Kiss Before Dying
This marks the true start of the series; more than anything else, it's when Hiram is introduced. While the movie isn't applicable to Fred's fight for life, it does get eerily close to Hiram and Archie's future relationship. A boy (Archie) begins dating a local mogul's (Hiram's) daughter, and she wants more, but he is dissuaded by a lack of favor from the father. He chooses the father, because of course he does.
The girl can't know---his ties to the father would be nothing without her. So he gets close while also trying to get her out of the picture through "natural" causes. It doesn't work. He dies. The end.
A Kiss Before Dying (1956) - ★★★
A Kiss Before Dying (2x01) - ★★★
2x02: Nighthawks
The protagonists are driven by the idea that terror could be anywhere. The man they're after could be serving their dinner, collecting their trash, or knocking at their door. It's another way to highlight that despite Riverdale having a police department, Archie is the only sheriff that matters. He is Riverdale's ideal of justice, and the only one capable of capturing the monster terrorizing picture-perfect families.
Nighthawks (1981) - ★★★½
Nighthawks (2x02) - ★★★
2x03: The Watcher in the Woods
A voyeur shoots someone in the woods---a connection can't be more straightforward than that. The simplicity stifles the imagination's ability to dig deeper. There are moments wen you can feel the movie struggling against its Disney restraints, trying to be something both more gruesome and campy, but it never fully commits. Naming a dog Nerek was a nice try, though.
The Watcher in the Woods (1980) - ★★★
The Watcher in the Woods (2x03) - ★★★
2x04: The Town That Dreaded Sundown
I love the idea that not only is Hal killing to cleanse the town of "sin", but also to gain a sort of sexual release. Yes, it does something for the killer in the movie, but that comes from biting the women, not raping them. Does Hal feel the same? Many of this season's combos seem to hold Hal up to other killers and ask the audience Is this him? Why? Does that make it better? In more instances than not, they are the same.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) - ★★★
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2x04) - ★★★½
2x05: When a Stranger Calls
The movie poster perfectly captures why this movie is important; a man is terrorizing a girl over the phone. Details and plot don't matter, as long as the audience gets one heart stopping scene. Where the movie diverges, however, is the next hour of painfully boring police procedural. As I'm sure to have said before, movies like this (with one connection and no engagement) don't make for good analysis. Oh well.
When a Stranger Calls (1979) - ★★½
When a Stranger Calls (2x05) - ★★★★½
2x06: Death Proof
Car chases are always a plus in my books. I just wish the Riverdale girls were able to recreate this iconic ending---why did they name an episode centering on Jughead and Archie after a female led movie? Unless they subscribe to my butch Jughead philosophies, the women get pushed to the side, defeating the original purpose.
It's almost a commentary on Tarantino. A man directs a movie about women, but makes sure to spend time exploring the "twisted psyche" of his testosterone-oozing antagonist. Without women in the writers room, women on screen are lifeless.
Death Proof (2007) - ★★★★
Death Proof (2x06) - ★★★
2x07: Tales from the Darkside
Stories are nothing without narrators, but narrators are nothing without stories. As TftD:tM demonstrates, narrators die as soon as the story ends, so they must continue to spout irrelevant (irreverent) plot-twists as they struggle to breath. The story is written as it's played out.
Aside from that, there's obviously the formatting. Few episodes separate story-lines out like this; interconnection is a strength of Riverdale, if not all ensemble shows. It's more of an experiment than a meaningful homage, but it's worthwhile to see the source material anyway.
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) - ★★★½
Tales from the Darkside (2x07) - ★★★★
2x08: House of the Devil
This is the first movie on this list that I actively hate, and I watched Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again, so that's saying something. The protagonist goes to an old, secluded house to find the family that used to live there has been killed. There are plenty of other movies that could have been used to make a more relevant reference. It doesn't make sense without the cults and antichrist pregnancies; why pay respects to something not present in the end result?
The House of the Devil (2009) - ★½
House of the Devil (2x08) - ★★★½
2x09: Silent Night, Deadly Night
As reductive as the virgin final girl trope can be, sometimes 80s slasher sex = violence = sex works, and oh boy does that happen in Riverdale (we've all seen the Choni x underground fighting ring editing choices). As with 2x04, I appreciate the parallels implying Hal is doing this partially for pleasure.
In SNDN2, Ricky continues Billy's rampage (the family curse), which is alluded to at the end of SNDN with a tight close up and a swell of music. The same is done with Betty looking into the fire. She's picking up a family curse of her own, and the parallel with the franchise gives the audience a hint of who the Black Hood is. Stellar work.
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) - ★★★★
Silent Night, Deadly Night (2x09) - ★★★★
2x10: The Blackboard Jungle
Mr. Dadier is the protagonist---the driving force behind the story. The conflict is resolved when he gains control of the students. In 2x10, however, the Serpents are the ones in the right, fighting for freedom of expression. It's a reflection of a changing society and views on how minors should be treated, but it also proves the strength of the reference through its absence.
This title would have been more fitting for 2x03, with Mr. Phillips taking the place of Mr. Dadier. His reveal as the Sugarman would have sent the same message that times have changed and moral invincibility isn't guaranteed with age.
Blackboard Jungle (1955) - ★★★
The Blackboard Jungle (2x10) - ★★★
2x11: The Wrestler
Sometimes this is your last chance, and you blow it, and you blow it again, but you still might make it if you try (die) hard enough.
The same can be said about Hiram. Although their wrestling nicknames are the only overt connections between the two, both characters are fundamentally about fighting for something that is going to ruin you and push your daughter away.
The Wrestler (2008) - ★★★★
The Wrestler (2x11) - ★★★★½
2x13: The Tell-Tale Heart
More obvious than most this season, but the writers struck an admirable balance between staring true to the story and putting a modern twist on it. Betty is being driven insane. The sound design, namely Betty's falling asleep/alarm clock sequence, does a great job capturing the tension of the original work.
The Tell-Tale Heart (1953) - n/a
The Tell-Tale Heart (2x13) - ★★★★
2x14: The Hills Have Eyes
Our beloved protagonists are flung into the middle of nowhere, becoming bait for the close-knit group of locals that are only in it for themselves. It could use some s6-esque cannibalism, if I'm honest; the connection feels surface-level and not worth my time, while still making me feel like I'm stupid for not understanding it.
The Hills Have Eyes (1977) - ★★
The Hills Have Eyes (2x14) - ★★★★★
2x15: There Will Be Blood
Eli is bludgeoned with a bowling pin, and Archie enters a blood pact with Hiram. Those both mean the same thing (neither one is getting out alive).
More than that, Veronica will never be the son her father wants. He doesn't view her as having the same instinct he was "born" with, forgetting that he forged himself into the man he is today, so little instinct that his employers were able to kill his father. Although she may be adopted in his eyes, and despite her not understanding his language (Archie becoming her interpreter for the language of side-glances and loaded pauses men seems to share), she can be more Lodge than him.
There Will Be Blood (2007) - ★★★★
There Will Be Blood (2x15) - ★★★
2x16: Primary Colors
Elections are everything in Riverdale, whether that be mayoral or student council, and nothing is off limits. It is one's duty to destroy the reputation of their opponents. While I did fall asleep and miss most of the movie, I am confident in those assertions.
Primary Colors (1998) - ★★½
Primary Colors (2x16) - ★★★★
2x18: A Night to Remember
It's disappointing that the writers didn't explore the parallels between Carrie and Betty. Mothers using cleanliness to overcompensate for genetics, telekinesis (serial killing), and you're not like the other girls; you're different, you're special evoke Betty and Alice. Carrie and Bobby's last scene as s4 Bughead would also be perfect, and do a lot for my Jughead Dies agenda. Your DNA is going to be the death of you.
Carrie: The Musical (2013) - ★★½
A Night to Remember (2x18) - ★★★
2x19: Prisoners
Archie is the child, being chased and kidnapped by a dark force--we see as much when the Black Hood taunts him in the bushes. It all comes back to his arrested development. Chic is Alex, (unknowlingly) languishing in the evil of his (found) family. Alice is picking up Hal's mantle. She does it better. She's the one with the serial killer genes, after all.
Prisoners (2013) - ★★★
Prisoners (2x19) - ★★★★½
2x20: A Shadow of a Doubt
This is Alice and Hal, down to how the darkness needs to be passed down (continued) to be destroyed (temporarily). Alice and Betty must both become him to regain their happy life, and who is not Betty if not Hal's twin?
Jughead is a great Jack, flitting in and out of the Cooper's affairs on a whim. He wants to sweep Betty away, but isn't able to, because this is where she's meant to be.
A Shadow of a Doubt (1943) - ★★★★½
A Shadow of a Doubt (2x20) - ★★★★½
2x21: Judgment Night
If hope is a thing with feathers, then guilt is a thing with teeth. Archie and Frank's guilt is eating them alive and hunting them from inside where they've taken refuge. This pair is more style over substance, with the action shots being lit in similar ways. The contrast between Frank stumbling into his fate versus Archie being hand-crafted for his is interesting.
Judgment Night (1993) - ★★★
Judgment Night (2x21) - ★★★
2x22: Brave New World
The Northside is a utopia, right? Heroes come back from the brink of death, friendship prevails, and there would never be a reason for anyone to leave. So why does sin get you killed?
Why are the Southsiders granted a "safe haven" in the Northside? Why is Jughead, a kid who never fit into either group, chosen to represent an entire community?
In other words, was Rivervale really that different?
Brave New World (1998) - ★★½
Brave New World (2x22) - ★★★
You can probably tell that my notes were substantially shorter this time around, which I blame on the show and not myself. That's a lie! I blame it on the crippling fatigue that's settled over me this month :(. Hopefully the new year will bring restfulness and decreased stress, for you and me. See you on the flip-side.
- urdeadbestfriend
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