Everybody Knows

Everybody Knows: Towns with a Dark Secret

THE FILMS: Midsommar (2019, Ari Aster), Hot Fuzz (2007, Edgar Wright), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955, John Sturges)

THE CONNECTION: Films in which a group fights to keep a secret from someone trying to uncover it.

THE THINKING: The town-with-a-dark-secret trope is a fun one which usually consists of a protagonist who thinks something isn’t quite right, and then a whole bunch of people try to stop them from figuring out what that is. That’s not always the case though, as this week’s triple feature proves. But there’s always something dubious under the surface and as the viewer we figure it out almost in real time along with the hero.

The three films in this week’s triple feature are an interesting collection of variations on the trope. Midsommar tackles it through the lens of horror and might be the exception to the formula; It’s a story of a secret that isn’t necessarily being covered up as much as it is perpetuated by unsuspecting visitors. Hot Fuzz brings a stylistic and humorous approach in the form of a buddy cop satire where a locals carry on with a secret behind the scenes for what they consider the benefit of all the townspeople. And Bad Day at Black Rock is a pot-boiler of a neo-western about a town with a secret they’d all like to leave in the past. Each brings its own flavor to the topic and is a lot of fun.


Town with a dark secret - Midsommar
Midsommar, Ari Aster (2019)

Midsommar, Ari Aster (2019)

With Midsommar, director Ari Aster goes in the complete opposite direction of his debut feature, Hereditary. Instead of dark, ominous interiors he opts for bright exteriors with endless sunshine. (See the Additional Reading below for an interview with Aster and cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski about the challenges of filming.) But the terror is still there, of course.

The film tells the story of a young woman who lost her family and sets off on a vacation with her boyfriend and his pals to a Swedish summer solstice festival. But the group quickly realizes that locals have their own plans for the visitors. Told like a bizarre folk tale, Midsommar is a shocking and interesting examination of themes like grief and the power of group-think.


Town with a dark secret - Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz, Edgar Wright (2007)

Hot Fuzz, Edgar Wright (2007)

A rare action-comedy with some real depth, Hot Fuzz is filled with all the elements of Edgar Wright’s dazzling style: whip-pans, fast cuts, great music, and intelligence. It’s about a big-city cop who’s reassigned to police a small town, but can’t stop looking for trouble. Eventually he finds it—a lot of it.

It’ also part of Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy (with Shaun of the Dead and The World’s End)—a fine triple feature!


Town with a dark secret - Bad day at Black Rock
Bad Day at Black Rock, John Sturges (1955)

Bad Day at Black Rock, John Sturges (1955)

Here’s a piece of advice Paul Thomas Anderson gave a group of aspiring filmmakers:

“Work your way up, save your money, and forget film school. Go watch Bad Day at Black Rock and listen to John Sturges’ commentary and you’ll learn more about filmmaking than 4 years of going to school.”

He said that for a lot of reasons. Millard Kaufman’s script is impeccable; the cinematography is outstanding (this was one of the first films shot with the Cinemascope process, which which cinematographer William C. Mellor works with masterfully here); and the direction is top-tier. All of these things work together to create a western noir where the tension builds to unbelievable heights.

The story is that of John J. Macreedy (Spencer Tracy), a World War II vet who goes to Black Rock—where the train hasn’t stopped in four years—to deliver a medal to the father of a soldier who saved his life. But it turns out the man has disappeared and everyone in the town knows what happened to him but nobody is talking. Local thugs quickly get tired of Macreedy’s digging up the past and suddenly he has to survive the night in a desert town where the train comes once each day. It’s a nail-biting pot boiler with themes that are—sadly—as relevant today as they were in 1955. And if it’s one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s favorite films, you know it’s amazing.

*Rosemary’s Baby from last week’s William Castle triple feature also fits this theme.


FURTHER READING:

WHERE TO WATCH: