Snow Day Binge: Archive 81

The perfect way to spend a snow day is to binge watch something good on Netflix. That’s exactly how I spent mine- watching Netflix’s new release Archive 81. I can’t believe I hadn’t heard about this show until the week of its release. I absolutely love podcasts and this show is based on the hit podcast of the same name. It follows Dan, an archivist that takes a very strange job with a large payout restoring old video tapes that were destroyed in a fire. As he restores tape after tape, he realizes he was chosen to do this job for a reason and that his history is connected to Melody, the woman that recorded the tapes.

I absolutely love Mamoudou Athie and he stuns in this leading role. He is the perfect mix of awkward Black guy and endearing hero. We watch 8 episodes of Mamoudou as Dan, piecing together this mystery and also trying to figure out how his life is intertwined with this mystery that he is unraveling. The tapes center around Melody, a woman using an oral history project about the Visser apartment building as a front to find her long lost mother whose last known address was in this building. As Melody gets more involved in life at the building, she quickly learns that these residents are not who they appear to be and they are really in a cult that is trying to summon a demon. Chile, she had so many chances to escape. But she could not put aside her hunt to figure out her truth. We eventually learn that this was a trap to get her to the building and her mother was never there. In present time, Dan is now determined to save this woman. His own best friend let’s him know this is a foolish mission but Dan can’t stop. In the finale, we discover that saving Melody actually is an option and Dan has to now see it through. I am sure we all gasped when Dan finds Melody and she makes it back to present time and Dan gets sucked back to 1994. This is what happens when you can’t mind your own business honestly. Because now how will Dan make it back to 2022?! It is clear that Dan is truly in 1994, not the Otherworld, as he looks out of the window and sees the Twin Towers. Also, the fuzzy things of the Otherworld are gone.

I adore a good cliffhanger and Archive 81 did not disappoint. We absolutely have to have a season 2 because I refuse to accept Dan is forever stuck in 1994 after he was just trying to do a good deed! I plan to begin binge listening (is that a thing?) to the Archive 81 podcast and hope that Netflix delivers us a season 2 asap!

What are your thoughts about Archive 81? Drop your thoughts below!

Don't Mess With the BX!

Everyone knows that one of my top 5 horror movies is Vampires in Brooklyn. I know that is such a strange choice but I’m a Black girl that loves horror movies and there are not a whole lot of horror or thriller films that have a completely Black cast. Trust me. It took a few days to complete a list of 31 films to post everyday in October. And that’s sad. Because we are just now beginning to get more representation in the horror genre (word to Jordan Peele). But this October we have so many great options coming out! One that I was super excited about is the Netflix original Vampires vs. The Bronx.

The film centers around three teenage friends from the Bronx- Miguel, Bobby ,and Luis. The neighborhood they grew up in is rapidly changing. The stores they are so used to are being purchased by a real estate company called Murnau Properties. Miguel is determined to save their favorite business, their local bodega, owned by their friend Tony (played by the real Bodega Boy The Kid Mero who is truly the highlight of this movie). Miguel plans a “Save the Bodega” block party in order to keep this neighborhood staple alive. But with more businesses closing and neighborhood folk going missing, Miguel and his friends can’t help but be on alert.

First of all, gentrification is scary enough. Then you add gentrifying vampires to the mix and this movie gets wild. This movie was really cute and quirky mixed with a few jump scares and lots of comedic moments. Spoiler alert: In a truly New York moment, a character saves the day by taking a vampire down with a TIMBERLAND BOOT! Truly my favorite part of the whole movie. I laughed and hit rewind three times AND sent the clip to a friend from the Bronx. I definitely suggest watching this with a nice cozy blanket this Spooky Szn!

Stressful Adventures of Sabrina

Part 3 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina dropped on Netflix last Friday and it was so good I watched it in less than 24 hours. I love this show so much. But that’s not even why we’re here today. I’m not even going to hold you that long.

Sabrina gets on my damn nerves. Every problem she has is something she caused herself. She is viewed as a hero because she always saves the day. But if she would listen to her aunts, other adults, or even her friends with common sense, the world wouldn’t always be on the brink of apocalypse. The season begins with her fixing something she started, ends the same way, and it’s a whole lot of her causing problems all up and through the episodes.

So while I love this show so much, somebody put Sabrina in timeout or ground her. I am tired!

Who is STILL Buying Creepy Dolls?!

So I normally don’t do movies with subtitles. I know that sounds childish but that takes a lot of concentration and I don’t really be here for it. But Netflix kept flashing some movie named Sabrina across my screen and I was intrigued. I watched the trailer and I was scared so I broke my subtitle rule and gave this a chance and it gave ME an anxiety attack. 

Sabrina is a part of a series of movies called The Doll. I didn’t watch the other movies and you don’t need to either to understand this one. Maira and Aiden adopt Vanya, Aiden’s niece, after her parents die. Vanya is having a hard time adapting to her new life and she really misses her mother. A kid at school teaches her a game called “Charlie Charlie” and once she plays the game by herself at home things get real. 

This movie was seriously creepy. There weren’t even a lot of jump scares- it was just all scary. Like the movie started with a possessed woman stuck to the side of a house. I was like “Wow ok-this is what we doing.” The acting in the movie wasn’t that great. Despite the movie being in a different language, the emotions seemed phony and forced. But some of the best movies on Netflix have the worst acting so I got past that. 

I will say that my issue with movies with plots like this is why don’t people ever get mad at the kid? If MY child summoned a demon I would seriously consider giving it up because who raised you? Whew Chile couldn’t be me. I can’t sleep comfortably at night wondering if you’re about to bring on the apocalypse. You gotta go baby sis. Nice knowing you. 

Sabrina wasn’t the best horror film of the year. It’s not even in the running. But it was fun to watch and a good quick scare. Give it a chance and let me know your thoughts in the comments!