Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 160 The Weird Horror and Social Trends of "Dead Town"
Inside the Debussy Salle at the Cannes Film Festival, the lights dimmed and the screen lit up.

The beginning of the film breaks the conventional style.

At the beginning of this film, the audience, who had preconceived that this was a thriller or horror film, burst into laughter at the characters' dialogues.

Chris, a black photographer, and his white girlfriend Ruth go to the suburbs to visit her parents.

Many white and black people smiled knowingly when they saw this scene.

"It's a very clichéd plot: a white girl and a black boy fall in love in an interracial way. It's a very commonplace beginning."

Alexander, a senior critic for the French magazine "Notes on Film", watched the first few minutes and wrote down his review in his notebook, seeming to regret his smile just now.

"The movie feels like a beginning of something normal, and I bet the subsequent plot will be about prejudice and discrimination that will force a black boy into danger, creating a terrifying atmosphere."

"Bingo, I think so too. In the end, it might just be a racial reconciliation. Look at how welcoming Ruth's parents, neurosurgeon Dean, and psychiatrist Missy are to him, and the town is almost entirely white. OK, I get it!"

"."

Just when everyone thought it was just a black and white conflict movie similar to most Hollywood movies, people soon discovered that the story turned in another direction.

The manor is indeed beautiful with green grass, but it is also full of mystery.

Ruth's parents, Dean and Missy, smiled warmly, but the servants, Georgina and Walter, had empty eyes and smiles as stiff as masks.

For example, the black maid can cry with laughter, with tears streaming down her cheeks of joy!

Another example is the black servant’s eyes as he runs in the darkness.

At this time, not only the protagonist Chris felt an indescribable uneasiness, but even the audience who did not react to what was happening for a while were shrouded in the horror created by the one-shot photography and the uneasy and moving shots.

"This weirdness is a bit overwhelming, Director Feng." Zhou Xun sighed softly.

Anyway, everyone can feel the weirdness, but they are more curious about what exactly caused it.

"Hmm." Feng Xiaogang frowned. Wu Chen was obviously creating weirdness and distortion, but he didn't know what Wu Chen wanted to express for a moment.

But the atmosphere created by the whole film really immerses the audience.

The atmosphere of horror and terror spread inadvertently.

"OK, I apologize for my previous judgment. This movie seems different. I don't know how it will end, but it's definitely going to be scary."

"."

Some media reporters and professional film critics from Cannes nearby made new evaluations.

At this time, when Ruth's mother was hypnotizing the male protagonist, the story seemed to have reached a new turning point.

A group of viewers were curiously thinking in their minds what these strange things were all about.

"What amazing shots and techniques." Ren Dahua exclaimed.

"Yes, I felt it when I watched his "Dark Side" in Sitges." Johnnie To smiled lightly.

"Can we in Hong Kong make a movie like this? Change the subject matter." Louis Koo asked, leaving Johnnie To silent for a moment.

In fact, the quality of Hong Kong films has been declining, and everyone can clearly feel it.

"Let's make good local films first, then talk about these things." Johnnie To had no choice, because the genre films that Hong Kong has always produced are only those that are popular.

At a family gathering the day after hypnosis, Chris was surrounded by a group of white people and was very dazzling.

But Chris was not comfortable. He also saw a black man snuggling up to an old white woman. His behavior was weird, and even the inherent way of communication between black people was gone!
And many sharp-eyed people seemed to remember something.

"I remember this guy. At the beginning of the film, he seemed to be walking alone on a dark street, and was suddenly abducted for no apparent reason!"

"It's him."

Many people felt a chill in their hearts, and seemed to begin to guess what this town was for.

As expected, on the other hand, Ruth's parents posted a photo of Chris at the party, and all the white people were holding up signs below, which looked like an auction with bidding!
This shot naturally connects to history, and the slave trade is still going on.

And a terrible secret hidden in this family is revealed:

They use hypnosis and brain transplantation techniques to transfer white consciousness into black bodies in pursuit of immortality and stronger physical qualities.

Chris became their next target. Inside the theater, the audience held their breath, their palms sweating, while the black audience gripped their seats tightly, as if they resonated with the fate of their compatriots.

"WTF, unbelievable story."

"I couldn't predict how the story would develop, but the ending was satisfying. However, this isn't a commercial thriller; there's too much going on."

"."

Because at the end of the story, Chris cleverly used the cotton on the chair to plug his ears to avoid being hypnotized again, and finally escaped successfully, killing the Ross family and dyeing the manor red with blood.

He escaped while clutching his wound. At the end of the road, the flashing lights of the police car were dazzling, and the audience's hearts stopped beating.

Is it salvation or a trap?
Chris's friend Rod shows up in his car and rescues him from danger, and the screen freezes at this moment.

The entire theater fell into a brief silence, followed by thunderous applause.

The black audience stood up and applauded, tears in their eyes.

The applause lasted for a full two minutes.

There were exclamations and whispers.

At this time, Alexander, the critic for the French magazine "Notes on Film", who had previously written "The beginning of vulgarization", had already crossed out the film review in his notebook.

His eyes were still fixed on the last scene of the film where the black protagonist looked back, and he silently wrote the first sentence: "Get Out, a social allegory beneath the horror."

"How to watch this movie?" Wong Kar-wai discussed quietly with Zhang Ziyi.

Zhang Ziyi's expression was complicated. As someone striving for an Oscar, she deeply understood the significance of Wu Chen's film: "This year's Oscar favorite."

She doesn't know about Cannes, but she is definitely nominated for an Oscar.

Wong Kar-wai was stunned when he heard this, with a look of surprise in his eyes.

At this time, some American media were even more excited because they saw some sets in the movie that imitated the style of New Orleans' old town.

And the city most severely affected by Hurricane Katrina was New Orleans.

This movie itself is ironic, and with this added, the irony is even greater.

After the premiere, Wu Chen was surrounded by film producers, who were vying to hand over their business cards.

"Wu, we met in Sitges!" A French film producer spoke. Wu Chen took a look and it seemed that he was indeed the French distributor of "The Dark Side".

"Wu, we've seen it too."

The same film producers come and go in Germany.

Unfortunately, Wu Chen has no plans to sell the copyright now. The value of Cannes plus the Oscar is the best. Moreover, he and Jason Blum’s ambition is to distribute the film globally and then sell copyrights such as DVDs after the release to maximize profits.

Seeing Wu Chen rejecting many film producers, Feng Xiaogang felt a little sad for a moment.

"How is it, Director Feng? Is the movie okay?" Wu Chen asked Jason Blum to send these film producers away, and asked with a smile while looking at Feng Xiaogang, Zhou Xun and the other two who had not left yet.

"Director Wu, why don't you sell the copyright?" Zhou Xun asked in confusion.

"It's not yet time."

Wu Chen said softly, and they were not fools, and immediately thought of something.

Feng Xiaogang's expression became even more complicated.

"Director Feng, I remember that The Banquet is also competing for an Oscar."

Mentioning The Banquet, Feng Xiaogang regained a lot of confidence and nodded repeatedly, "Director Wu, come and see my film the day after tomorrow and see if it has Oscar potential."

Feng Xiaogang was quite proud because Wang Zhonglei didn't come and was looking for some interested film producers, and he just sent a message.

When many film producers heard about his Shakespearean film and watched the more than one-minute edited trailer, they became extremely interested and clamored to go to the promotion meeting to see the full length footage.

"it is good"

(End of this chapter)