TWO FILMS - TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER, IT FOLLOWS

TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER

Sly documentary from Nick Broomfield that uses the Grim Sleeper serial killer case in South Central Los Angeles (murders of  young black women, some prostitutes but a lot who weren’t ) to discuss racism in America.  This is done by showing how the police were indifferent to murders in a poor black neighborhood, how they had a number of chances to catch Lonnie Franklin the Grim Sleeper killer but didn’t bother (One of the victims who escaped was able to tell the police what street Franklin lived on and still nothing), and how many people knew something was wrong with Franklin or had runs in with him but since the police were not bothering to investigate, they were never interviewed.  Bloomfield’s framing of interviews is brilliant and he is able to get valuable information out of interviewees.  The sleeper is a metaphor for white indifference or even collaboration with black suffering ends up being a damning indictment.  The refusal of the police or the mayor’s office to speak to Broomfield speaks volumes. 

 IT FOLLOWS

Sometimes a movie comes out that receives universal praise that I just don't get and this was definitely the case here.  Boring, flat, filled with unlikable characters - at least in slasher films all the annoying teenagers get killed.  The long camera angles and weird sounds were irritating not arty.  I think the director saw a lot of John Carpenter films but missed how Carpenter built tension. The filmmaker was perhaps trying to say something about promiscuity and/or sexually transmitted diseases but that's all lost in this nothing movie.