The following contains spoilers for Blonde, now streaming on Netflix.
Andrew Dominik's Blonde brings a fictionalized take on the myth of Marilyn Monroe. The film is based on Joyce Carol Oates' novel of the same title. Though it spins very far from the documented truth of Marilyn's life and her personality, the NC-17-rated film might have delivered 2022's scariest scene in a subtle yet haunting manner.
Blonde's Horror Builds Steadily Throughout the Film
Throughout the fictional portrayal of Marilyn Monroe's life, Blonde depicts the three times Marilyn lost her unborn child. While all of them were horror-infused in one way or another, the last time seems to combine all the horror from the previous two. Marilyn's first termination is traumatic, forceful, and filled with remorse. The trauma already bends reality, seeing herself escape from the operating table. The second time, the horror comes in the form of blood coming out of nowhere.
The night attack scene depicting Marilyn's third abortion introduces the kind of horror that could've been pulled straight out of an R-rated movie. Toward the end of Blonde, Marilyn is mentally unwell. She is depressed and not herself, as she is on drugs and drinking excessively. The scene follows her relationship with JFK, hinting at the tragic and forceful end of her third pregnancy.
Even before the night attack scene, she was drugged and trafficked by two Secret Service agents. The idea of being "watched" and "managed" intertwines with her not having full control of her life. She is also losing her mental grasp of what's going on. The film's most horrifying scene stirs fiction into an even more disturbing direction. Shot in black-and-white night vision, Blonde delivers 2022's most horrifying scene, combining the protagonist's perceived nightmare and her previous trauma with what might have happened.
What Happens in Blonde's Most Horrific Scene?
During the night, Marilyn thought she heard someone in the house and got up. She convinced herself that there wasn't anyone, but the scene clearly captured a man in her house. The next thing she knew, she was attacked. Waking up on an operation table, she was forced into yet another abortion. Similar to the previous horror, the camera went inside her body for a traumatic, forceful experience, though only hinted.
To Marilyn, the experience was a nightmare. She was convinced that it never happened, though the blood covering her belly when she woke up suggested otherwise. The technique of using night vision is very common in horror movies. In the climactic scene in The Silence of the Lambs, when Clarice investigates a dark cellar, Buffalo Bill watches her through infrared goggles. Likewise, the night attack scene in Blonde hints at a preying eye behind the scenes.
True horror is not at all visible to the film's protagonist or viewers. It isn't what's immediately in the scene that's terrifying but the unknown danger and hidden agenda that lurk in the dark introduced from the observer's perspective that makes this scene more horrifying than others. Even though it might not be as explicit or gory in nature, the subtle twist on reality and the unknown is enough to haunt viewers.
Blonde is available to stream on Netflix.