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The capabilities of thehorrorgenre are what make it so special when done right. Across that spectrum of scares sits the horror movie with an eye for social commentary that can cut through an audience as sharply as the killer wielding the knife.Netflix’sThe Platformis an unappreciated gem tucked away in the corner that, despite its high concept,has plenty to say about class and starvation wrapped in a digestible and delicious coating.The Platformmight appear simple in its metaphors of the plight of human survival, but its efficiency in establishing its world sits at the heart of what makes it so successful.
Social commentary can act as a weightaround a movie’s ankle, constantly holding it back from what it wants to be.The Platformcarries that weight at its core, taking the stranded hero archetype and turning him into a vessel for toxic societal structure, providing a new socially conscious step for the horror genre.The Platformhas a lot to say trapped inside its prison walls, some obvious, all creatively and viscerally realized.
Horror’s many formsmake it the ideal style to hold up a mirror to an audience, distilling various themes of social unrest into a melting pot of tension and pathos.The Platformpacks a lot onto its dinner table and tempts its audiences with a desire for freedom in a world where the menu only serves a punishing order. What makesThe Platformso compelling? How does it execute its social messages? How does it advance the horror genre? Here’s what you need to know.
The Platform 2
The Social Commentary of The Platform
The Platformfinds irony in the strictness of its surroundings, making it a maddeningly realistic portrait of the flaws in a system of class deficits and uncontrollable unrest among its inhabitants.The Platformfeels uncanny in its logic yet uses intrinsically human notions of power and greed to drive its characters to the edge of their sanity.
Violence isn’t the only currencywith an exchange rate inThe Platform; it’s luck that levitates the prisoners in the same breath as it brings them crashing back down. The randomness of what level someone could end up on adds an acidic spin to traditional images of the rich gorging on massive dinners. The prisoners claw at the food, tearing it apart until it takes on a sickly-looking quality that the horror genre has been known to exploit.
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Social commentary doesn’t necessarily have to be layered in ambiguity to have an impact.The Platformis a relatively simple parable, but its simplicity isn’t a bad thing. Nobody is better or more redeemable than the other, so everyone is driving the system even though they might not want to. They have no choice.The cyclical nature ofThe Platformis perfectly suited to horror and dystopia, with a desperate assumption that there has to be more to it, even though there isn’t.
Horror has long weaponizedour greatest fears, andThe Platformadds its dystopic spin to a reality that feels disgustingly realistic.The Platformcampaigns for equality of resources but deliberately cannot escape its confinement. That’s the heartbreaking truth thatThe Platformtempts its audience to challenge despite its futility.
The Violence of Netflix’s The Platform
Horror violence can work in many styles.The grounded violence ofThe Platformelevates the material to frightening levels. Whatever happens on the level you’re on will be reset, making any attempt to escape pointless. It also means there’s no order in the order itself, because the status quo is never maintained for long. Violence in this setting can sit in this undefinable area, where people do all they can to survive without prejudice. That’s a vivid form of horror violence, andThe Platformis a vicious experience.
When the violence does boil over, the fact that it’s justifiable, given what’s happening, makes it even darker.The Platformconfronts its viewers with the reality of human selfishness and doesn’t take a side either way. It’s ambivalent to the violence it’s creating because that’s how humans react whenplaced in survival situations. Horror movies often strip control away from the viewer, butThe Platformgives the prisoners just enough power to make them responsible for the violence they commit.
What the Horror Genre Can Learn From The Platform Franchise
The horror genre’s artistic resurgence with studios like A24 has given a new social edge to a genre that has been everywhere in its mission to disturb.The Platformlacks the heightened directional style ofsomething likeI Saw the TV Glow, but that’s the point.The Platform’ssocial commentary doesn’t change, nor does it try to. Humans are forced to adapt their behavior because it’s inevitable that they will. It’s that cruel expectation that givesThe Platformits brutality and tragedy. Horror is becoming more aware of audience expectations and is having a great time subverting them.
What the genre could learn fromThe Platformis its use of audience expectations to deliver a truly pessimistic view of humanity. More modern horror movies are refusing a happy ending, butThe Platform’s’happy' ending reinforces the violence that has always been there. The lack of change is the most horrific thingThe Platformhas to offer, a dystopia familiar yet vindictive in its logic.
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Recent horrors likeHereditaryorTalk to Mework because of the transformationover time from the normal to the abnormal.The Platformis forever abnormal, and as the food table sinks to whatever level you’re on, there comes the realization that it’s the prisoners who have the power to feed the people below them. But they don’t; they worry about themselves, and that’s just how it is. And perhaps that’s how it always will be.The PlatformandThe Platform 2are streaming onNetflixnow.
