The Modern Healthcare Vampire

“I have seen things in this world that would make Isaac Newton crawl back into his mother's womb. We are not so enlightened as we are blinded by the gaseous light of science,” says Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz (Willem Dafoe) a third of the way through Robert Eggers’s much-hyped reimagining of Nosferatu. The good professor swoops into the movie as a last resort, the mentor of Dr. Willem Sievers (Ralph Ineson), who seeks a second opinion about the onset of the sleepwalking, writhing, and night terrors plaguing the good Victorian lady Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp). 

As he’s done for most of his career, Dafoe boosts an already impressive project with his supporting turn. But his role in Nosferatu is neither hammy diversion like his recent work in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or a showcase of the quiet everyman power he brought to The Florida Project. The film’s title notwithstanding, Professor von Franz is the bloody beating heart of Nosferatu—the trailblazing genius cast out of the medical establishment for his fervent belief in the unorthodox. He’s the RFK, Jr. of this horrorshow, complete with the craggy voice and suped-up antics. And, whether Eggers intended it or not, the result is the definitive cinematic send-off of the Biden regime and its demands of conformity disguised as unity.

Though film critics and scholars have defined the last half decade as the age of elevated horror thanks to the rise of indie studios like A24 and Neon, their probing of the genre’s recent offerings seems quite disinterested in thematic undercurrents more complex than the avalanche of white liberal -isms finally on the wane after a decade of prominence. The work of Jordan Peele or a film like Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance earns its keep because of endlessly Tweetable—but glaringly obvious—commentary on race and gender. Nevermind that such films lend themselves to far more nuance and even outright toy with their target demos’ political certainties. For better or worse, they serve the role of movies that allow the armchair intelligentsia to genre slum. It’s why Eggers’s Nosferatu was the Christmas season’s hot ticket for would-be hipster influencers and has already spawned its own plague of memes. 

🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.

📹 LPRs & Fusus Still On Life Support This morning, Mayor O’Connell announced that he expects Metro to revisit the Fusus contract in the near future. Though the private security camera integration technology was shot down by the council last month, he emphasized the importance of real-time camera access to help during incidents that require “both security and medical attention.” 

“Especially as we've looked at New Year's Eve here, as we've had more discussion with individual council members to… work on a higher quality information set to dispel some of the myths that came up around the Fusus discussion, we should be able to get to success on that,” he said. “And I think that will be an important indicator for how we can revisit the license plate readers issue, as well.”

👀 A Look At Public Safety Though a record-breaking 220,000 people safely rang in the new year in Nashville, the vehicle attack in New Orleans has highlighted the importance of public safety during major events. In a statement on Wednesday, Chief Drake explained that Metro Nashville Police Department will incorporate any useful protocols gleaned from the investigation into the tragic incident. “Preparing for special events in our city, such as last night's New Year's Eve Big Bash, requires extensive planning by multiple police department components and our public safety partners,” he said. “We use mobile barriers/gates as a part of those plans. With respect to downtown, the Entertainment District Unit was formed nearly two years ago to provide an additional cohesive, visible police presence Thursday through Sunday to enhance safety and is complemented by sidewalk bollards along Broadway."

When asked whether MNPD received any terror threats leading up to NYE during this morning’s media roundtable, Inspector Preston Brandimore said that the department worked closely with federal partners to monitor online activity and follow up on tips. “Days before our note dropped, you had the incident in Germany,” he explained. “We're constantly looking not just at local, but national incidents to see how we can best protect our footprints.”

🤳 Where Virtual & Real Life Collide Generation Beta has arrived. This year’s newest bundles of joy also happen to be the first babies of the next generation. Australian demographer and futurist Mark McCrindle has been tapped for his professional opinion on which characteristics will make their mark on Gen B. According to McCrindle, it’s the “dawn of a new era,” where “digital and physical worlds will be seamless.” From cradle to grave, the newest generation will experience breakthroughs in smart technology and artificial intelligence that will shape the world they grow up in.

“With climate change, global population shifts, and rapid urbanisation at the forefront, sustainability will not just be a preference but an expectation,” reads an article posted on McCrindle’s webpage. “This generation will be raised by Millennial and older Gen Z parents, many of whom prioritise adaptability, equality, and eco-consciousness in their parenting.”

He also mentioned that Gen Z parents may push back against screen time and technology more-so than Millennial parents, and Gen B will be faced with striking a balance between “hyper-connectivity and personal expression.”

DEVELOPMENT

• Tennessee investor takes full ownership of three malls, including CoolSprings Galleria (NBJ)
• Pont Neuf Bar Opens in L&L Market (Scene)
• East Nashville building located near Five Points sells for $4.95M (Post)
• Downtown office buildings sell for collective $15M (Post)
• Pop musician sells Berry Hill commercial building (Post)

✹ WEEKLY FILM RUNDOWN: January 3-9

The Damned (Dir. Thordur Palsson; Starring Odessa Young) A young widow who leads an Icelandic fishing outpost comes to terms with her guilt over an impossible decision in this stellar psychological horror entry. Read our interview with Palsson and Young here. Now playing in theaters. 

Se7en (IMAX Exclusive) (Dir. David Fincher; Starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow) The film that created the modern serial killer procedural celebrates its 30th anniversary in full IMAX glory. Just make sure to open all your belated Christmas packages first. Now playing at AMC Thoroughbred 20.

The Count of Monte-Cristo (Dirs. Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte; Starring Pierre Niney) Alexandre Dumas’s classic revenge tale about a man falsely accused and arrested on his wedding day who escapes from prison and wreaks havoc on his enemies gets one of its finest adaptations in years. Now playing at the Belcourt.

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and yearly festival guide.

TONIGHT

🎸 Nora Brown @ The Blue Room, 7p, $25.88, Info

🪕 The Borrowed Mules @ Station Inn, 9p, $25, Info

🎸 Hippies and Cowboys with The Georgia Thunderbolts @ 3rd and Lindsley, 8p, $19.97, Info

🪕 The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12p, Free, Info

🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info

🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

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