Scenes That Inspire Me/ Filmstack Inspiration Challenge #115

Movies! Hell Yeah!

Inspiration is a funny thing, isn’t it?

One moment, it’s as abundant as oxygen. I’ll be able to type up a frenzy, whether that be a piece of fiction or an essay. I’ll fill Word documents and notepads up like it’s nothing.

Then there are the other days. Days when I can barely even type my own name. Days when even thinking about stringing together words feels like torture. On those days, I have to seek inspiration.

There are plenty of places I find inspiration. From the obvious, like films and books, to the smaller moments of life that you only pick up on if you slow down and pay attention. But when I need a quick jolt of motivation, I know exactly where to go.

This may sound a bit dorky, but I have a massive playlist on YouTube of scenes from films and TV that just get my blood pumping. Moments that remind me why I fell in love with the medium. The playlist is titled, “Movies! Hell yeah!” This almost always works for me. I can just shuffle the playlist, and my inspiration tank begins to refuel.

I won’t share the entire playlist with you. Primarily because it’s excessively long, but also because I consider it a creative sanctuary. However, I will share the five scenes I find myself returning to the most in the moments I find myself with ‘writer’s block’.

The Caravan Performance - Whiplash

Whiplash contains several scenes that have made their way onto my playlist. The “are you rushing…” exchange is an obvious all-timer. It’s always been the ending of Whiplash that enamored me. In just 10 minutes, we get a wordless version of what the film has been up to this point. This scene could honestly be its own separate short film, and you wouldn’t lose much context.

The small interactions between Neiman and Fletcher are brilliant and tell you all you need to know about their relationship. The moment when Neiman mouths ‘fuck you ‘ to Fletcher while he bangs at his drum set sends chills through my body. The song Caravan is also a perfect soundtrack for this scene. The bass licks are infectious and mysterious. Neiman’s drumming is somehow frenzied and controlled. Fletcher’s face morphs between pride and pure anger every other second. I think this scene is filmmaking at its best.

Kirk’s Death - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre taught me what horror really was. Horror often gets simplified as over-the-top gore or a showcase for cheap jump scares. When I was younger, I more or less subscribed to those beliefs. That’s what I went to horror movies for, not necessarily to be scared, but to see some blood and guts! Texas Chainsaw taught me that you didn’t really need either to scare the shit out of someone.

When I think of my favorite horror kills, Kirk’s death is hard to beat. There’s nothing super flashy about it. No giant squirts of blood or dramatic screaming. His death is almost mundane. It’s less than a minute. He walks into a house, meets his fate, and that’s that. So simple, yet so damn creepy. Leatherface’s first proper appearance is a damn memorable one!

Art vs Pat - Challengers

An absolutely electrifying moment! The whole film is propulsive and energetic, but this moment takes it to the limit. Tennis has never been a sport I’ve cared much about. Nothing against it, really. I just never kept up with the sport. Challengers makes me want to become a super fan.

I love the way that the action is captured here. We’re in the perspective of the ball. Oh, now we’re the net. Wait, are we under the court? The entire thing is so well done that you almost forget you’re at the movie theater and not within the audience of this tennis match. So immersive, it’s how I want my stories to feel.

Blood Test - The Thing

Paranoia is something I love to feel in a movie theater. Something about feeling such extreme emotions in a controlled setting. There is no better maestro of paranoia on film than John Carpenter. The Thing contains so many goosebump-inducing sequences. One in particular always makes me perk up on any rewatch. The blood test scene.

This scene is so genius because the audience is just as skeptical of everyone as the characters are. We have no idea who the thing among this crew could be. Not even our heroic lead is completely trustworthy. As each character’s blood is taken, you sink further and further into your stomach. End that with incredible practical effects, and you have one of the greatest horror scenes.

Father vs Son - Creed

This next one is a much smaller moment. It’s not one of the scenes you’ll think of when you hear the words Creed and Rocky. There’s an entire franchise full of intense boxing matches, inspirational training montages, and surprisingly thoughtful monologues. No, you may not even remember this scene. It’s early on in the film. Adonis Creed had a long day at work, just twelve hours after winning a hard-fought boxing match. We’re with him as he sits on the couch to wind down. He turns on a boxing match. It’s one that fans of the Rocky franchise are bound to recognize. Apollo Creed vs Rocky Balboa.

Adonis smiles as he watches it, then stands up and takes off his jacket. The obvious thought is that he’s going to mimic his late father, as a form of tribute. Instead, he stands in Rocky’s position and takes on this digital version of his father. Adonis never got over the death of his father. He considered it abandonment. So it’s only natural that his real boxing hero would be Rocky. The only man who ever took down his father in his prime. It’s an intimate moment that most franchises wouldn’t even bother to show. Coogler clearly knows that he’s making a lega-sequel but doesn’t let that limit his emotional arcs.