Sunday Service

What’s your favorite scary movie?

I’ve never been big on Halloween. Growing up, I was either too scared or too young for horror movies; Are You Afraid of the Dark episodes were even a chore. And being a church kid, we did minimal trick or treating, opting for Hallelujah Night dressed as biblical characters or Black historical figures. I don’t think I wore a real costume until my senior year of college (I was a ninja).

As an adult, I have a more curious palette for spooky things. I opt for psychological, this-could-happen horror over the overt slasher/gore that leans more disgusting than genuinely terrifying. Most of the time I find that comfort in true crime, cause nothing is scarier than real life. Long story short, here are my top five favorite scary movies.

1. What Lies Beneath

2. The Mothman Prophecies

3. The Ring

4. Final Destination

5. Get Out

“Your task is not to control, but to see.”

While I have enjoyed the adventure Agatha All Along has taken us, with its whimsical horror, camp humor, and not-so-stringent Marvel ties, I hadn’t been sold on this being one of the MCU’s best TV series. I still felt episodes had been uneven and the humor sometimes fell flat. However, last week’s episode changed my perspective on the series and my hopes for Marvel’s future.

“Death’s Hand in Mine” took the fun Hocus Pocus-style romp to new heights, beyond the safe Disney-fication a lot of Marvel content produces. This episode cemented the stakes our characters faced for the first time. As dark as the foreboding hand of death is, Jac Schaeffer and her team found the divine beauty in the context. Patti LuPone catapulted Lilia’s trial off the screen, forming a profound message that hit me hard.

To get a bit personal, I left my job of 16 years in June to pursue my passion - writing. And while they say good things come to those who wait, it’s rarely discussed how to manage in the meantime. Lilia’s pessimistic opinion of her craft placed her in a paralyzing fear. A fear that kept her stuck, isolated, under the illusion that she lost control. But that wasn’t the truth at all. Her power was never to control what happens, but to see and act accordingly.

I interpreted this spiritually, that I don’t have control over what happens, but how I see myself and react toward situations.

After episode seven’s narrative peak, I hope the final two episodes close similarly. It will be a beautiful sendoff into a new year of Marvel that promises Daredevil’s return and the eventual arrival of their first family.

Homecoming

Another riveting episode from HBO’s The Penguin. While maybe the slowest since the season premiere, it moved the story forward with unbelievable developments. Our three main characters return home figuratively and literally.

Vic finds himself back in Crown Point, but a changed man. He’s no longer the dutiful son who plays within the lines. He’s Penguin’s right-hand man. We see him change coats for good in this episode.

Sofia builds a new home atop one she deems dead. She seeks to erase her father’s legacy of betrayal and abuse for a matriarchal mob order where she values her foot soldiers. She earns their respect and reaches across the table to do what her father could never fathom: end the war between the Falcones and the Maronis.

Oz finds refuge in a place he thought he lost as a child. Despite his mother ruining his safe space, he digs new healing grounds for his operations. It’s amazing how resourceful he is, always finding the hint of light in the claustrophobic darkness. We also see him embrace the darkness in full form. Penguin’s villainy is exact and profound and viewers are here for it.

Welcome home.

Trailers

She’s alive

After overcoming the debilitating COVID pandemic and the labor strike of 2023, Dan Erickson’s psychological drama series, Severance, is finally returning to a device near you on January 17. A teaser trailer was released Wednesday, showing only glimpses of what new chaos awaits in the corridors of Lumon Industries.

The Agency

Michael Fassbender leads a stellar cast for Showtime’s spy thriller premiering November 29. In an adaptation of the French series, The Bureau, Fassbender plays a CIA agent whose sanity is now the company’s biggest threat. Fassbender is joined by Richard Gere, Jeffery Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Harriet Sansom Harris.