Movie: Fallen

I've said before that the only benefit of centuries of religion is artistic influence. What I never personally understood was why there aren't more great films about satan and his demon hordes. There are countless ancient stories to lift and adapt, yet movies about the devil are perpetually campy and shallow.

There are exceptions however, like Fallen. It would be harsh to call this one campy, but it rides the line; I'd be more apt to call it modest. The story follows a detective who is introduced as the valiant hero in a serial murderer's capture. The killer is executed, but unfortunately for Detective Hobbs, the killing doesn't stop.

Before long Hobbs discovers that what he's been chasing can't be described in terms of the physical world and his valiant nature transcends his title as detective into a new role as a crusader.

This isn't a perfect movie; there are weak bits. Hobbs' brother played a pivotal role but was portrayed awkwardly. We never find out much about him other than he's a father and slightly mentally handicapped. A little more character development with him and the emotion Hobbs felt toward him would've been more believable. And this is definitely subjective, but a little more time with Embeth Davidtz's character would've been appreciated. I've always had a thing for her, one of the rare modern examples of glamour. Her and Saffron Burrows... But she's not in this movie so I'll get back to the point.

Overall Denzel did a great job bringing life to the script and there are a few very memorable scenes, especially the final battle between Hobbs and a demon. Highly recommended for a unique portrayal of evil of a biblical nature.

4/5

Movie: The Shining

The Shining is a staple for any decent Halloween movie marathon and a film that I've loved for a long long time. Every scene is literally dripping with horror, from subtle beginnings of a child's delusion and his innocent, understanding mother to bold foreshadowing of the hallway flood of crashing waves of blood, going so far as revealing the climax of the film in one of the first scenes; the plot is so rich and complex, so multi-dimensional and cyclic. Given the story is from Stephen King, so yes, it's wonderfully developed, but it's Kubrick's atmosphere and such a wonderful casting job that brings this movie to the top of the horror genre.

A mandatory film for foggy halloween nights.

5/5

Movie: Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Second movie of my horror marathon, and a supposed classic that I've never seen before. What can I say about this one... Hmmm. This might be an example of a movie that should be respected for getting the ball rolling, but not one that will stand in my mind as a great horror film. I can sum up my sentiment with this: It was just too goofy. The characters, especially the Captain America soldier guy, were goofy. The conflicts (driving freight trucks in front of the entrances?) were goofy. The music was painfully goofy.

The gore was good, I thought they did really well with what they had at the time and I certainly cringed during a few chomping scenes, but damn were the zombies themselves really goofy. They just painted green makeup on them and had them stumble around... I know, I know, this was before the whole 28 days later running zombies revelation, but man...

You could dive into the interpretive side and say "Well, the stupid slow zombies are a jab at middle-class america." And I'm sure there are many similar satirical elements going on here. It's fairly clear that the fact that the zombies gravitated toward the mall was a pretty big statement about how mindless most of the people are who shop there, but I think any comments of genius or visionary should be left to... well... not George Romero.

The one part that struck me as really interesting, but much too short-lived was right after they conquered the mall as a zombie-free zone and realized there was nothing really to do. So they wandered around and watched tv and tried on fur coats etc... Triumph against the zombies is kind of a bum deal when you realize you can never just resume your previous life.

Overall Meh... too Goofy.

2/5

Movie: [REC]

So I've setup a little horror movie marathon for myself to combat the long stretches of time in between reading and pacing. First on the list was [REC]. If I recall correctly it was some IMDB list that led toward this. I had known little about it other than it was the original film that inspired an american rehash called Quarantine, which I'm pretty sure bombed, but the existence of an american rehash generally means the original is worth seeing. So here we go...

The movie begins with a cute spunky girl, the host of a TV show titled "While you're asleep," or something like that, on her way to a fire department to report on the nightly activities of fire fighters. She begins by interviewing a few of them asking what their job entails other than putting out fires and as the night progresses she grows impatient wanting a spectacle of sorts to report on to make the show an especially good one.

At this point it's fairly obvious the writer/director has a good sense of anticipation which is a relief because this is one of the make or break qualities of any horror film. The people involved really have to show restraint and hold off on the shock until that sliver of time right before boredom and then lay it on thick.

The call finally comes for the firefighters to pack up and deploy to an apartment complex where a woman is reported as being trapped in her room. As the story develops relationships are formed rather quickly between the reporter and the firemen. When they arrive on scene more characters enter the mix, the tenants of the building gathered in the lobby, waiting impatiently. They explain that not only is the woman alone in her apartment but that she'd been screaming wildly and uncontrollably.

I'll stop there with the description of the story because any good horror film should be experienced without any prior knowledge of the surprise. I can say however that tension escalates very quickly after the introduction of the conflict.

A quality that stands out for me is the strength of the characters. This film is a short one and we only know a few of the characters for a short time, but they were colorful enough to be memorable; and not overstated beyond an honest reflection of how a person would act in such a situation of chaos.

As far as how scary it was, there was one scene that really got me. There were many moments of sudden shock and the film should be commended for that, but the one scene that stood out for me I'm almost embarrassed to say. I'll describe it without much detail: The cameraman is peeking into an attic panning around slowly in a circle. You know something is going to happen, I mean, it's a dark attic, something's going to pop out and I was just waiting patiently. But, man, when it happened I went cold and stiff all over. I think I may have yelped a little in horror. It was a good moment for me.

Anyway, if you like horror movies and aren't thrown by subtitles, this is definitely worth the ride.

5/5

Illusion

It's natural to feel lost. We're spinning about the universe hurtling toward empty space, alone and sometimes afraid. We can create illusions for ourselves, believe in love, believe that someone/anyone is capable of understanding us, believe that our goals are important, worth the investment of time. We need to hold on to personal illusion to help us believe we have some importance as an individual. Without this there's nothing to live for because the universe is too big to care. I'm no more important than the stink bug that wanders around my apartment looking for crumbs. We both live and die, we both will eventually decompose and be forgotten.

My illusion is abstract in that it only presents itself after interpretation and is only found in dark corners caked in dust and cobwebs. Places like the comment portion of the song Alberto Balsalm by Aphex Twin on youtube:

i just imagine someone trying to make music...and they play the intro...no one digs it so there is a pause...then some random chick hits a table with her waist and that noise is made...then it all comes together :D

Lmfao, I can kinda see that, too, now that you mention it.

tripping on acid, my friend said to get this face out of here, so i made it my background....great shit

Lmfao, epic.

this might be the best comment ever made on youtube

I must agree with you, sir. Quite epic.

This, together with On, are probably my favourite tracks by him. This one has such a deep melancholy sadness to it, but still manages to sound uplifting in the strangest way. Like witnessing the end of the world while knowing you've still managed to save your porn. At least that's how I feel.

I feel that too, looking over the precipice and thinking, "Hey, at least I tried."

At least I'm trying...