Shadowing Practice: When A Movie Hides That It's A Horror Film - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Sometimes when I'm watching a horror film,
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Sometimes when I'm watching a horror film,
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I can't help but be a little dissociated from the violence and the scares after a certain point.
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Going into a horror movie nowadays,
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I know what to expect.
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We all do in my mind.
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We get a basic setup with characters,
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introduce the threat, general creepy stuff until something actually happens.
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People fight the bad guy and either win or lose by the end.
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Now, I'm being generic, I know,
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but that's precisely what I'm critiquing.
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I think we all like to be taken on a journey when watching a movie.
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And for me, I like it when a horror movie feels unpredictable.
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But that's sometimes asking a lot from a genre that is pretty well explored at this point.
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So how do we keep our horror fresh?
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Well, one way to do it is to put it in a non-horror world.
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I've seen a couple videos now of the scariest scenes in non-horror movies,
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and I realize those films contain some of the most horrific moments in movies.
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I'm talking about scenes like the baby scene in Trainspotting,
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or just about any scene from the second half of Requiem for a Dream.
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I love when movies that aren't horror introduce elements of horror because I'm never quite expecting them to go there.
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I don't have those same expectations that I do in a straight-up horror movie,
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so those scenes are even more effective.
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Now, if you've been watching my videos for a while,
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you know I've been really scouring through IMDb looking for obscure horror movies from Asia that I want to give recognition to.
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And we are sticking with that trend today.
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But I'm not going to be talking about a movie that's technically labeled as horror,
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but it somehow contains some of the most disturbing and unsettling scenes I've seen in quite a while.
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I'm Nightmare Movies, and today I want to introduce you guys to 1996's Picnic.
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I'm not going to be covering Picnic in its entirety.
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It's a beautifully strange movie that I highly recommend you all check out.
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Instead, I want to give you a basic summary,
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then break down one of the main characters' stories neatly placed into three disturbing scenes.
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So let's get into it.
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The first part of this film introduces us to a character named Coco,
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a young alternative girl being driven to and placed in a mental asylum by her parents.
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She's pulled out of the car by a gang of overly enthusiastic attendants at the asylum.
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We're not entirely sure why she's being taken in at the moment,
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but as the film goes on,
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every character is revealed to have a dark secret.
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She's taken in and locked in a room to be processed by administration.
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A nurse enters soon after and roughly handles Coco,
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removing all the clips and accessories from her hair.
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And after getting Coco to change,
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the nurse starts going through her things.
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She takes interest in Coco's weird feathers scarf and tries to take it.
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The nurse and Coco fight over it, but Coco is stubborn.
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She, rightfully, doesn't want this nurse to take her things,
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but the nurse is fed up with her.
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Just before things get violent,
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the matron of the asylum interrupts them.
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And this is a good introduction into the world that we're going to be in for the next hour and 12 minutes.
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It's apparent that like most asylums,
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this place is run by people looking to take advantage of their patients.
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Each patient is supposedly mentally ill,
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so the staff has free reign to do as they please with these people.
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Now fast forwarding to the next scene,
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it seems that most of the patients have gathered on the roof for what looks like art time.
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They all sit and draw,
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being monitored by this extremely pleasant nurse.
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She goes around commenting on all of their drawings,
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and the patients seem to be delighted by her company.
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That is, except for one boy,
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the boy that we're going to be discussing for the rest of this video.
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His name is Sumaji, and unlike the other patients,
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he sits on this bench reading instead of drawing,
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isolating himself from the rest of the group.
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The nurse comes and sits down next to him.
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She rubs his knee, seemingly trying to start up a conversation,
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but Sumoji ignores her.
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She takes the hint and walks away from him.
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So far, it seems like this movie is setting up for a depressing drama about the mistreatment of mentally ill patients,
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sprinkled with some dark comedy and surrealism.
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But this is the point where I wasn't fully prepared for just how dark this film was going to get.
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For some context, Tsumiji suffers from graphic hallucinations,
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and three specific ones are shown to us in this film.
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I'm going to break down all of them,
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and with that warning and introduction, out of the way.
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Night has fallen.
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Tsumiji sits on his bed as his cellmate talks to him about Coco.
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Now, I can't show any of the cellmate because he is pleasuring himself while he talks about Coco,
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but that's not what's disturbing about this scene,
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though it fits thematically as you'll find out later.
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I told you that Tsumiji suffers from hallucinations,
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but I never told you exactly what he sees.
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The camera zooms in slowly.
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All of the sound is fading away,
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and someone speaks to Tsumiji.
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He turns to look, and this is what he sees.
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When I first saw this, I was shocked.
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This grotesque man-puppet fused to the wall of Sumoji's cell.
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If there was any time to describe something as uncanny,
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I feel like this is the perfect time to do so.
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The man, or the puppet,
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I don't even know how to describe it,
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asks Sumoji, what have you done now?
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Followed by asking, what are you hiding from me?
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Sumoji ignores the question, but then we start to gain some insight into the situation.
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The man accuses Sumuji of being the one who broke his classroom window,
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but he denies doing so.
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The man, who we can now assume was his teacher,
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then accuses Sumuji of stealing another student's lunch money,
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and again, Sumuji denies it.
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This line of questioning is bookended with the teacher asking,
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why do you always put the blame on others?
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Now, Sumuji is reverting back to his tactic of ignoring the teacher,
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waiting for him to go away.
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But this is where the scene goes from uncanny to downright disturbing.
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The teacher pesters Sumoji until he finally acknowledges him.
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That's when the teacher tells him that he needs to quote, take a leak.
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He asks Sumoji to unzip him and take it out,
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and Sumoji does just that.
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He gets on his knees,
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unzips his teacher's pants, and I'm bracing for the worst.
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But what I got was much worse than I thought.
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I obviously can't show it,
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but what pops out of his teacher's pants is what I can only really describe as a bouquet of lanky penises,
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something I never thought I would see or ever even wanted to.
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Tsumiji, shocked like the rest of us,
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backs away, and his teacher urinates all over the floor,
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moaning in pleasure as he does so.
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He even tells Tsumiji how good it feels,
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and everything about this is disgusting.
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But he did what the teacher wanted.
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Now he wants him to go away.
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But before he can, the teacher wants to know something else.
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He asks Tsumiji if he forgot June 20th.
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It was raining that day, wasn't it?
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He asks, why did you kill me, your teacher?
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It's hard to find words for this scene,
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but when I went into this film,
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I can't say I would have ever expected something like this
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though it's the exact type of horror integration I was looking for.
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Now there's a lot to unpack but I want to save it until we have all of the context,
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so with that I want to move on to the next hallucination.
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We're fast forwarding about halfway into the film now so I'll give you a little summary of how we got here.
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Koko and Tsumiji are caught exploring outside of the asylum and walking along the wall.
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There they ended up at a church where a priest gave them a bible.
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They arrive back at the asylum and are now being punished for leaving the premises.
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They give each of them a dose of sedative and smash cut to Coco alone in this dungeon.
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But she hears something.
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Tsumiji's muffled voice.
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She looks over and we all witness Tsumiji strapped to the bed,
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unable to move, and the nurse from the rooftop laying on top of him,
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using him for her own pleasure.
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It's an uncomfortable scene that goes on for far too long,
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but eventually we smash cut to them being finished.
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The nurse lying on top of Sumoji and him fast asleep.
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That is until he's awoken by someone,
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his teacher, urinating on his face.
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Now this is a quick hallucination, but an important one.
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The teacher is now stuck to the ceiling,
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urinating on Sumoji and telling him once again how good it feels,
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but something feels more malevolent.
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This isn't the teacher from earlier that was trying to be gentle with Sumoji.
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This is a man who has power and he knows it.
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Sumoji is begging for him to stop,
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but his teacher tells him to drink it.
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It's only when Coco calls out for him that this hallucination comes to an end.
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Coco looks at him, deeply worried,
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and Sumoji turns away, ashamed.
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And once he does, the nurse also wakes up.
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And since she's finished, all she does is get dressed,
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get up, and get on with the rest of her day.
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While not lasting all that long,
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this scene still helps us understand even more the trauma that Tsumiji is currently living with.
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But before we talk about it more, there's one last hallucination.
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By the end of the film,
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Coco is out exploring the wall once again,
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when out of nowhere it starts to rain.
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As it does, we jump to Sumoji and see him in a rage walking along the wall as well.
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The rain has triggered something in him and he starts to stomp on the ground.
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And as he does, his teacher's head appears, begging him to stop.
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But Sumoji won't.
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He just continues to stomp and stomp until the pain is just too much.
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He collapses in on himself,
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curling up and just wanting for all of this to stop.
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Coco walks up to him and is ready to comfort Sumoji.
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Under her broken umbrella, Coco tells him that she can smell that he's a killer.
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She asks who he killed,
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and this is where we get the explanation.
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Sumuji explains how he took his teacher's life,
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stabbing him in the back one day.
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He says his teacher hated him.
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He used to torment Sumuji.
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He followed him all the way from grade school to high school,
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doing god knows what.
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And the only way to stop him was to do what Sumuji did.
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But even in death, his teacher won't leave him.
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So in just a few scenes,
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we bear witness to an absolutely heartbreaking story of a boy who was taken advantage of.
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It's never outright said how he was,
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but we can apply quite a bit from these hallucinations.
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Our first hallucination is the longest and most revealing in the tactics the teacher used against Sumoji.
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The teacher berates him with questions and puts all of the blame on Sumoji,
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attempting to gaslight him and convince Sumoji that he is not a good child.
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After breaking Sumoji down, he would then uplift him with compliments and praise,
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but only after his teacher got what he wanted.
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He asked Sumoji if he would unzip his pants and take it out,
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and as he does, remember that Sumoji gets on his knees,
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something he doesn't actually have to do but seems to be an almost learned behavior.
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If this was what the teacher would have him do all the way back in grade school,
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when Sumoji would have been extremely naive and malleable,
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and when the power dynamic between the two of them would have been very one-sided,
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this ultimately highlights an absolutely terrifying relationship.
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The abuse probably started in a similar way.
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The teacher would break down Sumuji,
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ask him to do a task that he would frame as simple,
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or something the teacher would be incapable of doing on his own,
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hence why he's seen trapped in the walls, unable to move.
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Then reward Sumuji for doing so,
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a common tactic for abusers and their victims to create isolation and dependency.
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We see the opposite tactic actually being used by his current abuser,
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when she seemingly tries to build him up with affection,
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making him feel wanted, but that ultimately fails as he rejects her,
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but that doesn't stop her, as we know.
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Now, in the second hallucination,
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we get more of an idea of what this eventually became,
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both through the nurse and the teacher's actions.
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Both of his abusers in this scene are violently taking advantage of Sumoji,
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and his teacher says a downright disgusting thing to him.
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As the water falls on Sumoji,
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his teacher says that there's nothing like the first piss of the morning.
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I'm guessing that as he got older,
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this behavior extended far beyond the school and possibly turned into house calls for the teacher.
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There's also no more fake pleasantries or compliments,
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only the action and a crude comment.
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This hallucination most likely represents the tail end of their relationship,
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and in the final hallucination,
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what is being said is simple and bold.
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It's the day that Sumoji took a stand against his teacher,
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trying to rid himself of this trauma,
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but the tragedy of it is that for Tsumiji that wasn't enough
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and he will have to live with those memories and that man for the rest of his life.
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Tsumiji's story is just one part of this film but it's one
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that affected me and felt horrifically real even including the absurd man puppet.
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In just a few short scenes Picnic paints a picture of
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a traumatized boy who can't escape his past in the most unforgettable way possible.
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Like I said I love when movies that aren't considered horror utilize it for their stories.
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I can't think of a more memorable and disturbing way to portray a character's trauma than Picnic.
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And truthfully, I wish more films made bold choices like this.
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Film is a visual medium
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and there's no way for me to better understand what a character is going through than to show it.
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And Picnic shows a lot.
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Remember, this is only one part of a crazy film
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and I recommend you all give it a watch and let me know your opinions down below.
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Like I said in my last video I'm branching out into places I typically don't go,
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and I think I've found another incredibly dark film that hopefully all of you will enjoy.
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And with all that being said,
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thanks for watching, don't forget to subscribe if you like these videos,
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and I'm Nightmare Movies, and I'll see you guys next time.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will engage with a video discussing the unique aspects of horror films, particularly how certain non-horror movies can evoke horror elements unexpectedly. You will practice your English listening skills by following the transcript, focusing on the nuances of conversation, tone, and pace. By the end of this lesson, you’ll not only gain insights into film commentary but also enhance your speaking skills through effective shadowing techniques, which will help improve English pronunciation and fluency.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- dissociated - feeling disconnected from one's surroundings or emotions
- unpredictable - not able to be predicted; unexpected
- elements of horror - features or scenes that create a sense of fear or unease
- dark secret - a secret that is hidden or kept from others, often due to its disturbing nature
- alternative girl - a person who embraces non-conventional styles or attitudes
- mental asylum - a facility for the care and treatment of individuals with mental illness
- roughly handles - treated harshly or without care
- to process - to examine or handle something methodically
Practice Tips
Utilizing the shadowing technique is an effective strategy for improving your English fluency and pronunciation. As you watch the video, listen closely to the speaker’s tone and speech patterns. Here are some specific tips for this particular video:
- Follow the Speaker's Rhythm: The speaker’s pace may fluctuate, especially when expressing excitement or surprise. Pay attention to how they quicken or slow down their speech during moments of emphasis.
- Pause and Repeat: After a sentence or a key phrase, pause the video and repeat what you heard. This will help you practice improving English pronunciation through mimicry.
- Emphasize Emotion: The speaker discusses themes of horror and unpredictability, so make sure to express those emotions in your voice. This will help you with your IELTS speaking practice as well.
- Use Context Clues: When you encounter unfamiliar words, try to understand the meaning based on context. This will enhance your vocabulary and comprehension skills.
- Learn English with YouTube: Regularly practicing with videos exposes you to different accents and styles of English, making your learning journey more dynamic.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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