the jelly side down.... What kind of idiot writes that? I swear that was probably the worst scene of any horror movie ever made.
What a completely idiotic thing that was... If someone told me this scene and explained to me how the jelly side was down I would think they were trolling me. I don't think I would believe anyone that would try to describe that to me.
it is that stupid. Omg I Cringe everytime I think about it.....
I swear that line took the movie down a whole star for me. I mean, not really, but it was hovering at a 6.5, but on IMDB you can't do half stars, so I rounded down to the 6 (I usually round up). Overall, I liked it though - I'm an atheist, but Satanic movies tend to scare the sh*t out of me (meanwhile, movies with a "happy" god tend to annoy me). Stupid latent Catholic upbringing lol.
They're coming to get you, Barbara!
demon and ghost movies scared the -- out of me too. I can't watch them because I get paranoid and cant sleep.
But this Jelly side down has to be the single most ridiculous and stupid scene I've ever seen.
it is almost like it belongs in one of those 'Scary movie' movies. pissed me off so much
Right?! Dumbest line ever in an otherwise entertaining movie.
They're coming to get you, Barbara!
Who write such dribble... why M Night that's who.
shareThere were a lot of stupid moments in this movie. But that was probably the worst.
Split Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spm2AxsfPSA
It was not a bad scene or bad line at all. The line....and the reasoning....is only as simple as the person who believed it.
In other words...the security guard (Ramirez?) was a rather simple guy, at least when it came to his superstitions. There are people like Ramirez. People who believe things like...if someone sweeping a floor happens to touch your feet with the broom, it will bring you bad luck. Not every line or character in a movie (especially a story like this--which isn't exactly Citizen Kane) needs to be (or SHOULD be), perfectly polished and sophisticated. There are people in the world like Ramirez....with simple, sometimes even silly superstitions. That one was obviously an example of one he was introduced to early on as a kid.
That scene deserves a lot more credit than it gets. It starts to show just how far-fetched Ramirez's beliefs could ordinarily be, in every day life. But then...on a day where some freaky sh_t is happening, even the cop (and many of us the viewing audience) were more and more willing to maybe believe there was some truth to all Ramirez's silly "superstitions". The jelly flip was just a simple, innocent means of establishing the character and his simple, seemingly silly beliefs. What made the movie progressively more creepy as things moved on...was that we started to think, more and more, that maybe Ramirez was right.
It's kind of a slack-jaw, simple-minded, lowest common denominator reaction to just come on here and say: "Duuuuude, that scene was so STEEEEWPID." But it's only because you don't understand it, even in its simplicity. And you're seeing it too literally. It was a metaphor....and it established a character. The jelly flip was a lot better idea and scene than if they had some spiritual expert come in and did some sophisticated example of the paranormal. No...it was just simple Ramirez, and his simple little belief. What made it scary was....maybe it wasn't so silly afterall. Get it yet?
I laughed aloud at the expression on the security guard's face when his toast hit the ground and he thought he proved it. He was looking at it like it was the worst omen ever conceived by soothsayers and like everybody else was going to hop on-board at the point. Unintentional hilarity at its finest.
Overall, I did enjoy he picture, but that scene was...amazingly bad.
From someone very far removed from religion, I thought it was silly and that he didn't repeat the test was even more silly. But I'm thinking this kind of thing was something his mother or grandparents probably told him about the Devil as a kid and it was one of the first things he thought about doing. He was such a strong believer that he only needed it to happen once to be convinced and terrified.
shareYour evaluation of the character is probably right.
I don't really remember this scene anymore (been awhile since I watched the film), but if memory serves, it was kinda just the way it was shot. It was shot in such a way not just to show the guard's level of religious zeal or belief, but rather like, "Hey, audience: look how spooky things are getting!" and it was just a little silly with the fact that it was coming from jelly toast. If they'd chosen a black cat hanging around or mirrors breaking or something... okay, a little cliche, but there's ways to shoot shattering glass that's spookier than, uh... jelly toast.
The randomness of the jelly toast family superstition (and his fervent belief) elevated it beyond the cliche of say...”step on a crack”.
shareCouldn't Shayamalan have picked an equally random, but more sinister proof of Devil?
shareIt’s as arbitrary as the (primarily African American) superstition: If someone sweeping a floor accidentally touches your feet with the broom, you will be cursed with bad luck.
That’s what makes the randomness of the jelly toast seem like just a family superstition...but in context, chilling.
Fair enough, but it just came off as silly to me. Your experience with the scene was obviously quite different, so maybe it works better than I think.
Maybe they could have found an actual cultural superstition like the broom thing that could at least have been grounded in reality.
M. Night Shyamalan is a genius!
shareHere's the scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rbO4E4X28k
Whether or not the jelly side up down test makes any sense is irrelevant. It's coming from a rather low brow ignorant character. To make that 20 seconds the basis for a critical judgment of the movie is ridiculous. It's not that critical.
This movie has been barbarically forgotten today
shareI think that was deliberate. The wanted that security guard to look as foolish as possible so we can understand why the others waved him off
share