@Troy hmmm as a writer I am pondering. By what you said, you dislike US to the point where its story can not be changed to improve it. You would not had made it. So if you are a producer and the film is pitched to you, you say no. May I know why, you in a producer role say no to the film's pitch or premise? As a writer I think it matters to hear this.
Hmmmm, you offer a huge question. Is ease of comprehension the biggest factor in ranking an artwork, with the higher ease equaling a more positive rank ?
Hmmm, I think an answer exist , but it is slightly complex. Every artist in fiscal capitalism has a creative side plus a commercial side. Each artwork from an artist thus can be ranked as a creative or commercial work.
The creative side of an artwork's rank should not move positively or negatively based on ease of comprehension? why? A reader/listener/viewer comprehending a work has nothing to do with its creativity. The artist saw it. The artist is human. But as each human is individual, no individual must comprehend what another comprehends. Creativity rank should move based on techniques used to create,elements displayed,quantity of thoughts generated by viewers/readers/listeners. Sequentially, US making people think more is a more positive rank for the creative rank.
The commercial side of an artwork's rank should move negatively based on growing ease of comprehension? why? the idea of selling an artwork is for the viewer/reader/listener to comprehend it in whole or part and thus be willing to buy it. If it is harder to comprehend, it is less potent to buy. Thus why, special effects laden superhero films or the musicals of the film industry gone by or the martial arts craze films in and after BRuce Lee or the slasher film craze all have very comprehensible storytellings and in parallel, alot more sales.
Look at the innocents of 1961, a financial failure. At the end of the movie, you don't know if the teacher is a murderess, if a soul has haunted and killed, you don't even know the outcome of the story. It uses shadow/light/contrast lovely. Creatively it uses many techniques, makes you think a lot, but is also hard to comprehend. But what you may comprehend can be devastating, far more horrible. It is a little like the strangers, which was successful financially but, is similarly hard to comprehend. The genius is, you don't know why the people came in. The assumption is , they are merely crazy slashers. But that is an assumption. The end of film shows a group of people who are "civilized". Thus why the couple went through this, a couple who are lower rich, is a puzzle, that the movie doesn't reveal. it makes you think.
In parallel psycho made in 1960 reveals all at the end. We know norman is a murderer, we know his mind is deranged. we know he has killed. The horror isn't in the unknown, it is in the idea. It is like silence of the lambs. Lector is frightening not because of anything unknown to the audience, but because he is presented to be known.
@Delano ahh I see. I comprehended it. It reminded me of two things in the past. One Peele mentioned. He said he was influenced by twilight zone. and I caught instantly the similarity in the Twilight zone episode, Mirror Image. With the peele twist that in the film we are witnessing the two switched between worlds interact to each other in a complex plot. To the larger plot it made me think of the man who fell from earth. In the man who fell from earth, the "alien" was held up in a government installation but eventually walks out as the installation is forgotten or gets lost in bureaucracy and secrets.
The story is simple: an unknown entity of power, maybe the usa government, maybe a financially wealthy organization, figured out how to make copies of people, and were breeding them in a complex underground network. By the look of the monitors, the project was setup in the 1950s 1960s . But by the 1980s, it is running on autopilot. No one is there at the monitoring rooms or installations except these copies. In the 1980s, a copy gets an inspiration or ability to act different, as a simple anomaly, maybe it was the storm, who knows. Her original meets her and the copy switches with the original, tying the original to a bed and taking the place in the world above. Now the original is trapped in the subterranean system to feel the life of the copy who is free in the world above. Time passes and the original has figured out how to manipulate the copies and free herself. But she has the education of the child she was when entered. While the copy living above, is a lower rich housewife with children who attended school and ballet and lived a life free with opportunity. The copies go on a killing spree and make the hands across america successfully, but their leader, the original, and her copy husband and kids are killed by her copy and her original husband and kids. I love the story from a horror perspective in my view cause all to often, people seem to fear little things. For example, a creature exists. But that to me isn't as dreadful as horrifying as a country of over 300 million original people killed by their copies, completing a fanciful notion <itself a copy of the usa reality>, made by their government, save for the original husband and original children of a copy that alone escaped years ago by an act of self empowerment. In the jason films, the answer is simple, don't go to that camp. In the freddy films, don't live in that town. In the halloween films, don't get in a relationship with jamie lee curtis . But in US, most folk are dead. Its a murder spree. That is more horrible to me as a writing concept.
@Delano yes, exactly, judge its merits to buy. Commercially I concur to your point.