“Under the Skin” (Film Review)

Tags

Adam Kempenaar, Birth, Drama, Film, Independent, Jonathan Glazer, Mica Levi, Michel Faber, Movie, Novel, Review, Scarlett Johansson, Science Fiction, Surreal, thriller, Under the Skin, Walter Campbell

By Sartaj Singh

**CONTAINS SPOILERS

When the last frame of Jonathan Glazer`s latest film- Under the Skin finished, I was struck by two things. The first, was how spellbinding the picture was, in every sense of the phrase. I felt as though, I was slowly disengaging from an experience which had shocked me to the core.

This was to such an extent, that my eyes had to adjust to the house lights, and I had to slowly succumb to reality again. The second, which had dawned upon me soon after, was a quote from Roger Ebert, which goes as follows: “If a movie is really working, you forget for two hours your Social Security number and where your car is parked. You are having a vicarious experience.”

Under the Skin is one of the purest examples of what cinema does best. For a couple of hours, it allows you to see the world through a unique point of view, and almost live out that experience. While staunch traditionalists and some audiences members will complain that the film does not have a narrative flow. I would contend that the film has many interesting layers, that one can interpret, put together and ultimately form a cohesive experience.

One of these layers is the whole framework of the film, in an interview with Adam Kempenaar (of Filmspotting fame) The director, Jonathan Glazer, said that, what had interested him most about the original novel by Michael Faber, was the point of view of the alien character. To this end, the film is about her small time on Earth. This is in addition to some other themes, in the picture.

One such theme is about image, not only from the vantage point of how Scarlett`s character presents herself to the world, but also how Glazer presents the actress to us, by playing with her usual image. These two ideas work greatly in unison, the first showcasing the alien with a careful balance of female and male traits.

The former being presented in what she wears, as we see Johansen`s character go shopping, picking a dark brown fluffy coat and lipsticks. The latter is shown in the vehicle, the alien chooses to drive. This is a massive truck and her behaviour is very predatory, methods of which, that are usually ascribed to males.

Despite how much we see of Scarlett Johansson’s character, including a scene where she is looking at her naked body in a mirror, while a prism of light shines through her. I feel as though Glazer ultimately shows that objectification is an empty hollow thing, using Johansson as a sketch. Some of her roles in the past, have had the audience perceive her this way.

Despite quite a bit of nudity, it proves to be, not very tantalising at all. This is through some of the role reversal as well as how Glazer shoots Johansson. One remarkable example being when he focuses on a close up of her face, which then cuts to her eyes and we see nothing, no spark or life behind them.

There is also a theme of voyeurism, that permeates throughout the picture. On the one hand, we are watching the alien`s point of view. In addition to this, we are seeing the world from her perspective, which ultimately shows us a view of ourselves. This is best showcased in a montage of sorts, where we see images, scenes of random people going about their everyday lives.

This ends with the alien`s face, coming into frame, appearing slightly out of focus, and settling in the middle of the frame. This almost gives the impression that we are perceiving her memories and recollections. Ultimately the interplay of these two ideas, is perfectly encapsulated in this one scene.

Jonathan Glazer, elsewhere in his direction, seamlessly creates the most atmospheric film of the year, which greatly blurs the line between reality and dreaming. His use of non actors in the majority of the picture, give the film this great tactile feel that complements the mood and style. His trademark, as with his previous film Birth, is in crafting these great, finely composed shots. They linger, almost in a Kubrickian way, it gives the viewer the feeling that the camera, is quite infinite in its scope.

The lightning was very impressive too, there are a lot of black on black scenes. However you could almost swear that you are perceiving a veil of red in an almost subliminal way, in these moments. His work was most seductive in the first half of the picture, which incorporated lighting from the natural environments.

This is shown in the scene where Scarlet`s character is asking for directions and we see her half of her face covered in amber, reflected from a nearby traffic light. What is even more impressive, is a similar scene we get later on. The key difference is that the sun shines in the shot, giving this very natural quality and one of the film’s few warm moments.

Finally, Glazer directs the picture in a unique way, that makes the film not seem like a science fiction movie. This comes from the aforementioned style. It also comes from showing such drab environments where you can really feel the dirt, bleakness and coldness of those areas.

In fact, the last scene where we see Scarlett`s alien visage, despite its passing resemblance to the female terminator model in Terminator 3. It looked more like a cyber infused version of an Edmund Munch painting, as opposed to the usual Hollywood alien reveal.

The picture, is greatly helped by the score, which was provided by Mica Levi. In its use throughout the film, it gives of the impression that we are in the landscape of the alien`s mind. The sound scape being a mixture between quite mechanical, dizzying and primal. The primal aspect is emphasised with a great use of drums, that have this deep, subconscious effect on the viewer, during the seduction scenes.

Scarlett Johansson anchors the entire film, with her performance. One of the most fascinating parts of it, was how multi-faceted it was. On one level we see her as the happy, go lucky woman with a British accent. She is polite, fun and caring, in these scenes, when she is with men. However outside those early scenes, she seems so cold and calculated, in her precision and purpose.

Seeing these two elements come together in the seduction scenes is very intriguing. This is because, Johansson is playing with both levels of these established façades, while simultaneously putting on an erotic front.

Johansson also adds other elements to her performance, which are best illustrated in the second half of the picture. She plays up her curiosity, about her own image and displays a great deal of vulnerability. Johansson`s portrait of a being, who is isolated in a strange place and comes to learn, what it means to be human, is one of the best performances of the year, and perhaps the actress`s personal best.

Despite the short amount of time, that has elapsed in my viewing of the film, I can already tell that, it is going to stay with me. The thirst of wanting to see it again, is close to, the feeling of wishing to experience a peculiar dream again, with all its enigmas and peculiarities intact.

Talkin’ with Destiny West (Writer)

Tags

Australia, Author, Blood, Book, Cameron Cloutier, Destiny West, Discussion, Dr. Rev Mayers, Erotic, Erotica, Film, Genre, Gothic, Horror, Interview, Lamia, Movie, Novel, Novelist, Podcast, Sadomasticism, Scary, Sex, Terror, The Awakening, Violence, Writer

My interview with controversial horror author, Destiny West (“Lamia”, “Lamia – The Awakening”).

                                    (Lucifera model photo by Kevin Golding)

Also, be sure to read her book, “Lamia”. If you don’t mind a little sex, violence and blood in your storytelling, it will certainly put a smile on whichever part of your body that needs attention.

http://www.destinywest.com.au

Update (January 8, 2014):

In a follow up podcast with O&A, Destiny West agreed to answer some questions from her fans and readers. Enjoy!

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (Film Review)

Tags

Book, Box Office, Catching Fire, Donald Sutherland, Film, Francis Lawrence, Jennifer Lawrence, Katniss Everdeen, Liam Hemsworth, Movie, Novel, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Review, Sequel, Series, Stanley Tucci, The Hunger Games, Young Adult

By Shane M. Dallmann

Here’s what we all already know: Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) don’t get to rest on their laurels after co-winning the Hunger Games (much to the displeasure of the Capitol). Not only do they face a lifetime as Mentors ahead of them, but they first have to take a whirlwind tour of the Districts and follow the script exactly as written (which includes the professed love affair that saved their lives). But whether or not they stay “on book,” the people are NOT having it, and President Snow (Donald Sutherland) must take drastic action to both discredit and destroy Katniss in front of her adoring, revolution-minded public. And what of Gale (Liam Hemsworth), the young man Katniss supposedly REALLY loves… not to mention her own family?

Remember, I DID like the first one. But CATCHING FIRE is a significant improvement on almost every level, beginning with its much darker tone. Things seemed bad enough in District Twelve the first time around, but in this case even the entrance to Victor’s Village (home of Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch, among others) resembles nothing less than the gates of Auschwitz itself. The use of Nazi/Holocaust styled imagery may seem too obvious a choice for some, but it remains timeless and relevant and is carried off potently by director Francis Lawrence (no relation to the star), who had previously given us such fine-looking but essentially empty thrillers as CONSTANTINE and I AM LEGEND. More to the point, the overbearing menace is far more palpable and the violence all the more effective: to that end, Patrick St. Esprit makes an ominous cameo as the brutal Commander Thread, signalling that he’s far from done with this narrative even if he only gets one scene this time around.

None of the returning cast need prove anything; and Philip Seymour Hoffman makes another strong addition as the new Gamesmaster in town. As he explains to President Snow, it’s all about “move and counter move” as the players are manipulated: it’s certainly a far more acceptable alternative to merely killing Katniss outright, no? The buildup to the next annual Games accounts for more than half of the new film’s running time and is compelling throughout: and thankfully Stanley Tucci is still on hand as the smarmy emcee with whom this year’s Tributes (all past winners in a new twist on the rules) enjoy playing hell.

When I said this was an improvement on “almost” every level, you probably guessed where I was going. It’s true that everything building up to the launch of the Games themselves is good stuff (right up to the final seconds, in fact). But the Games? After the first movie, there was really no way to make them seem fresher and more exciting the second time around, despite all the new hazards. Still, CATCHING FIRE doesn’t fall flat on its face at this point–we’re going through the motions, true, but the routine is still perfectly watchable, as are some of the various new Tributes (particularly Jena Malone as Johanna: let it never be said that she didn’t know how to make a memorable first impression).

Naturally, this being the middle of a trilogy (though the third book, MOCKINGJAY, will follow the regrettable trend of the two-part movie finale), there’s not a satisfying ending to be had here, but at least the movie stops at a point where you really do want to see what happens next.

Don’t be put off by the “young adult” label. CATCHING FIRE is the one that should settle any doubts as to whether THE HUNGER GAMES has the “right” to be seen as its own animal in an admittedly crowded menagerie. If you saw the first one and disliked or dismissed it, you still might do well to see what they do with it here. And if you’ve avoided the entire HUNGER GAMES craze as a matter of principle, by this point I think you’re missing out. But you still really ought to start with the first one.

“The Forgotten” (Short Story)

Tags

Australia, Author, Blood, Destiny West, Erotica, Horror, Lamia, Novel, Novelist, Short Story, Writer

By Destiny West

I have gotten used to the stench now, the odor is kin to pig farming. It gets into your clothes and hair and even works it’s way into every pore of your skin. You reek of the odor yet your own nose can’t smell it. Perhaps that is a blessing.

I watch, helpless yet curiously fascinated, as one of those brown little cockroaches scuttles over my chest. I can feel its tiny legs fluttering against my pale skin, it used to repulse me. It still does hold some disgust in the back of my mind. I can feel my brain telling my arm to smack it away but my arm won’t respond, it just lies there limp and ignorant of my torment. Now I watch it with cunning eyes, curious to its life. How pathetic a creature I am to find something so insignificant so damn exciting, but nothing much else remotely interesting happens around here and at least watching a living creature is more entertaining than watching the paint on the ceiling peel away from its bonds because of the humidity.

The cockroach catches itself in a bead of my sweat. Swim away I urge it, not wanting to watch it drown upon my own flesh and die. I am surrounded by death.

I swallow tentatively, a well of my drool has already begun to cascade over my lower lip and ooze its way down my chin. The feeling of the liquid, that sudden coolness against my tepid flesh stirs those familiar sensations in my bladder again. Now I can even hear the dripping of the tap in the dirt encrusted basin. Drip, drip, drip – will my torment never end? The pressure is getting worse, relax I tell myself, just let it go, you have no other choice. I succumb and release, feeling the heat of my infected urine purge itself down my thighs and trickle down the insides of my knees. It absorbs itself into the mattress, mingling and becoming one with the other urine stains. It goes on forever, the minutes seem like hours until I have finished.

I know what he will say, he will look at me with accusing-bastard eyes and verbally abuse me for my incompetence. Yet it’s his own fault, if he cared for me properly, tended to my needs, instead of keeping me confined to this bed, then I would not wet myself or end up lying in a pile of my own feces. For punishment he will leave me longer to wallow in my own filth. What do I care though, I have nothing to care about now. I know that soon and with his help I will depart this God-forsaken earth. My time is coming and I have accepted it

I have watched the others go before me. I have watched him stuff their puny abused corpses into the bags and drag them away to God-knows-where. I even welcome pain to escape this torment. How it would be to feel anything real.

My body has become so accustomed to the sharp blows of his fists. I do not feel them now. Nor do I feel the bed sores that have opened small circular patches upon the flesh of my back from how I am forced to lie all day. At times I feel the puss oozing from these sores and I hear the insistent buzzing of flies trying to make a meal from them. I’m an all you can eat buffet.

Genital region is a smorgasbord of crap and dried urine, on some occasions you will even catch a oozing of jism from he had fucked me. Fucken Bastard, he likes the helpless, I’ve seen him fuck corpses. He likes the feel of our hip bones sticking into his groin as he humps us, bellies slapping bellies. His perfect fucking smile peering down at me, that look in his dark eyes as he shoots his foul load within my withering cunt.

But who is he to know that I secretly enjoy it. I love to be fucked hard. But I pretend to fight it for fear my compliance might turn him off me.

I have lost count of the days that I have been here. There is nobody out there to miss me, no family and no friends of real significance.

I am alone in this world and for that tragedy here I am.

I have lain here and watched my own body wither away from his sadistic neglect. I have watched the others before me wither away and die at his hands. He usually keeps us together in this room, there are four beds, including mine.

There are only two of us at the moment. The other, she is too weak to talk now, she is bordering on death and there are times when I look at her lying opposite me and think that death has already been her salvation. Her eyes always stare into nothingness, so blank and void of life. He has not bathed her or fed her in days. For the first time in days I heard noises from her during the night. All the hours blend into one here, the only way I can distinguish night from day is by the small gap between the blind and the window. A small amount of sunlight filters through that meager slit sending a solitary beam of sunshine down upon the linoleum floor. I have watched that beam of light, watched as the dust particles floated in its haziness.

Then there is the insistent droning from the fluorescent lighting tube that dangles precariously from the centre of the room. That light always remains on, here there is no true darkness, only the darkness of our existence.

Since I was first brought here, I have known of ten others to have come and gone. I have watched them die at his hands. Watched their life slip away, watched as he removed their now frail, bruised and battered bodies from their beds. Sometimes in death he would still leave them where they lay. Their bodily fluids had already expelled from their orifices and soaked into the bed. Their flesh had begun to bloat and discolour into a sea green yellow. He would come back to visit them, come to expel his own vile bodily fluids into and upon their naked decaying bodies.

He would contort their bodies into crude positions and fuck them hard with frenzied passion before our eyes.

I remember one of the woman that had laid in the bed next to mine, she is long gone now. Her body disposed of. I recall that she was one of his favourites, oh yes he does have his favourites, the ones he gives a little more attention to. Not the good type of attention, like for example more food or water. There was no ‘good favourite.’ Only the ones he likes to fuck a little harder, a little more often. So none of the women have been wanting that kind of attention from hi, but once he sets his eyes on you, well there is nothing you can do about it. Your body is going to comply to his sadistic demand. This woman that was next to me, she would lay fucken rigid in her bed, keep her legs as tightly shut as possible. She had just been bought to this hell hole, had a lot more strength then and defiance too. He would beat the shit out of her, but she would fight for all it was worth. When he would leave her alone, I would turn my head to face her and watch her doe-like eyes terrified and pleading. Her body would be so painted with bruises and cuts and she would look back at me.

‘Don’t fight it.’ I would whisper to her. ‘No point in fighting it, just turns him on more.’

That was the goddamn truth, this sicko loved the fight. Most rapists do don’t they? I had remember hearing that if you were ever being attacked sometimes it was better just to play dead, let him do what he wants and get it over and done with, less likely to get hurt or killed then. Sure as I lie here, he loved how most of them trashed and clawed him, though he equally liked them stiff like boards with rigor mortis set in. Though that was more of a power thing to him, he got off on the power of still being able to fuck them, perhaps with their souls watching and the lords eyes upon him, he wasn’t a true necrophilic at heart.

Sorry if I’m going off track, my mind’s slipping nowadays. That abyss is calling and if you were in my position I don’t think you would fight it.
This woman the one beside me, he got so sick of beating her that he really snapped one day, went completely off the handle and cracked her hip bones like they were twigs. Dislocated them clean from their sockets, so he could man handle her, put her legs in any position he liked and she could do nothing. The pain made her pass out. I watched as he fucked her every way possible that day. Even took the time to pull out her remaining teeth with pliers so her mouth was all gummy-red and he fucked that hole, shoved his needle like cock straight down her throat while holding her hair and pounded it in and out of her head. Sprayed his jism all over her face, glued up her eye with its white hot slime. Then he had flipped her over and become bone hard again, never seen a man so virile and ready to go so fast. He rammed his cock into her arsehole dry, I swear I could hear the flesh around her rim tearing like a perineum rips when a woman gives birth to a real big baby. Tore her right through to her cunt, both holes blended into one big gapping mess.
I could see and smell her feces backing up out of her hole and spilling down onto his cock and smothering his balls in its filth.

She died a day or so later, suffered cruelly too. He didn’t’ tend to her wounds, just rolled her onto her back, covered her with a sheet and left her to die. Didn’t even look at her again, only when the smell was so bad that he knew she was dead. Then he came in pulled back the sheet revealing her bloating frame and stuffed her head first into a body bag and dragged her from the room.
A day later I had a new companion and he didn’t even bother to turn the mattress, just put her straight in the bed on top of the dried stains of excrement and blood.

Here comes that familiar sound again, I can hear him walking down the hallway; he visits at least three times a day. I watch as the large door swings open and he walks in dressed all in his crisp white uniform and slush puppy nursing shoes.

‘How’s my geriatrics today?’ He sneers arrogantly.

How does he think we are? Forgotten, slipped through the cracks in the system. Left to wither away in a government-run hostel for the aged. Where conditions are worse than a third world country hospital. Where we are starved and abused by staff and left to die alone in our beds. All because we have no money and no family to care for us.

He comes over and stands at the end of my bed holding the rusty bed pan, sneering at the small of shit and piss rising from my bed.

‘Couldn’t fucken wait for this could you?’ He yells and throws it at my head. I feel the sharp pain and then………………………………..

‘Bout time you fucken died you old bitch.’ He laughs and unzips his pants.

“Parker” (Film Review)

Tags

Action, Adaptation, Clifton Collins Jr., Donald E. Westlake, Drama, Emma Booth, Film Review, Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Helm, Michael Chiklis, Nick Nolte, Novel, Taylor Hackford

By Shane M. Dallmann

Preliminary Note #1: If you’re looking to me for a review of HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS, I’ll have to disappoint you. The trailer alone convinced me that I’d only be seeing that one if somebody else bought my ticket. If you think I’m completely misguided here, please let me know.

Preliminary Note #2: While I consider myself fairly well-read in the “action” novel field from Bond to Bourne, I have not read any of the “Parker” books by “Richard Stark” (Donald E. Westlake). I’ve heard it expressed often that the new movie PARKER doesn’t do justice to the books and that Jason Statham was miscast as the character. On that I can offer no opinion whatsoever–I’m reviewing nothing more than the new Jason Statham movie. I HAVE, however, read numerous Matt Helm novels and tend to doubt that we’re dealing with as extreme a case as the casting of Dean Martin in that arena…

PARKER starts off with a pretty terrific “bang” involving a heist at the Ohio State Fair. We quickly learn that Jason Statham is playing another one of those professional crooks who considers himself a regular Robin Hood: he’ll only steal from those who “can afford it;” he tends to handsomely reward those who help him along the way; he doesn’t want to see anybody but “bad guys” get hurt; and he’ll even provide reassurance to those who get unduly stressed out during his capers. But he only works well with a team when the entire team follows the rules to the letter, and this heist quickly dissolves into one of those “It wasn’t supposed to happen THAT way!” deals, after which his honorable partners (including such terrific character actors as Michael Chiklis and Clifton Collins, Jr. from the CRANK sequel) leave him for dead and abscond with the loot.

Luckily for Parker, he’s as superhuman as he is self-righteous (and he can even administer himself an IV in the back of a stolen ambulance). And after arranging for the safety of his girlfriend (Emma Booth) and his mob employer (Nick Nolte), Parker’s off to settle scores and reclaim what’s his.

Up to this point, the movie’s been crackling non-stop under the direction of Taylor Hackford, giving you all the action and humor you’d expect from a Statham vehicle but still keeping it somewhat more realistic than a TRANSPORTER movie. Then, for reasons FAR too complicated to explain here, Parker dons a Texan disguise and engages down-on-her-luck agent Jennifer Lopez for a real estate tour of West Palm Beach, Florida. And here’s where things grind to a screeching halt.

It’s not Jennifer Lopez herself that’s to blame–she’s perfectly acceptable in the role. And I’m not going to go off about morality in such a production (hey, this is the A-1 CRANK fan speaking), either, because PARKER clearly identifies itself as a “bad guy as good guy” movie from the beginning. One can believe easily enough that Lopez would spurn the overtures of the honest cop and fall for the allure of the charming crook (and hope for a share of his spoils). But are we REALLY supposed to feel sorry for her when she finds out he already has a girlfriend?

Yes. Go back and read that again. Parker already HAS Emma Booth. And he’s such a caring, pure-hearted thief-for-hire that he’d never even THINK of cheating on her. There is actually NO REASON for the Lopez character to even be IN this film except to provide an important piece of information that Parker could probably have divined otherwise in less than five minutes of “movie time.” Everything else she does simply serves to bog down the plot when all we really want is for Statham to catch up with his betrayers.

Oh, yes, he eventually does that. And there’s a super-brutal fight sequence to wake you up in the middle of the slog, and there’s another big heist, and there’s a good, suspenseful showdown. And then there’s more Jennifer Lopez stuff before we can get to the end credits.

If you want to see Statham at his best with both action AND character drama/interaction in a tightly-constructed story, I will redirect your attention to THE BANK JOB and KILLER ELITE (not to mention the direct-to-American-video BLITZ, which was apparently “too British” for our mainstream screens but too violent for the arthouses, but which would have served us far more efficiently than PARKER all the same). If you just want the action and aren’t too concerned with the “other stuff,” stick with DEATH RACE (or plenty of other examples). PARKER isn’t likely to satisfy either appetite.

“Wild at Heart” (A Look Back)

Tags

Angelo Badalamenti, Barry Gifford, Blue Velvet, Bobby Peru, Cameron Cloutier, Cannes Film Festival, Chris Isaak, Cousin Dell, Crispin Glover, David Lynch, David Patrick Kelly, Diane Ladd, Discussion, Elvis, Epic, Fire, Frederick Elmes, Funny, Grace Zabriskie, Harry Dean Stanton, Horror, Inland Empire, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern, Lost Highway, Lula Pace Fortune, Mulholland Drive, Nicolas Cage, Novel, Perdita Durango, Podcast, Randy Thom, Romantic, Sailor Ripley, Screenplay, Sherilyn Fenn, Wicked Game, Wild at Heart, Willem Dafoe, Wizard of Oz

“Wild at Heart” (Screenplay): http://www.screenplays-online.de/screenplay/82

“Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter” (Film Review)

Tags

Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Benjamin Walker, Civil War, Dominic Cooper, Film Review, History, Horror, Hunter, Lincoln, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Movie, Novel, Rufus Sewell, Tim Burton, Timur Bekmambetov, Vampire

By Shane M. Dallmann

I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from ABRAHAM LINCOLN, VAMPIRE HUNTER. I hadn’t actually read the book (or PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES, or any of the other fad “mashup” success stories) but I had a chance to look it over backstage a couple of years ago and knew that it wasn’t anything like a camp-fest: the outrageous historical fiction would, indeed, be played straight.

Well, there’s playing it straight, and then there’s playing it like any one of a hundred martial arts movies you’ve seen (despite, of course, the novelty of the Civil War setting). Young boy loses mother to nasty villain. Young boy swears revenge, but finds himself hopelessly unprepared… until a “master” arrives to put him through intense, specialized training (which, in this case, seems to take young Abe less than ten minutes) and, hopefully, show him the correct mental attitude and spiritual path…

Okay, it’s Lincoln, but it’s still sheer, uninspired formula. Nevertheless, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, VAMPIRE HUNTER starts off with plenty of zip and has a lot working in its favor, especially its cast. You’d buy Benjamin Walker as Abe Lincoln in anything; Dominic Cooper is good fun as Harry (the aforementioned “master”); and Rufus Sewell is dependably villainous (not that he’s asked to truly prove himself in the arena of challenging acting). And, well, you can’t go wrong by casting Mary Elizabeth Winstead (as Mary Todd in this case).

Sorry–aside from invoking the title of the film, I haven’t even mentioned VAMPIRES. Yes, they’re around, and they provide the film’s best moments in the first half: Abe’s first attempt to avenge his mother is quite well-played, and there’s a terrific action/horror setpiece that starts in a pharmacist’s office to look forward to…

…but when Abe finally catches up with the vampire he most WANTS to kill, somehow the scene becomes an overwrought CGI spectacle filled with hundreds of stampeding horses. Yeah… and the characters jump from horse to horse, and the vampire even throws a horse at Abe… umm… why are we suddenly watching an Indiana Jones movie?

No, no… oh, PLEASE no… it gets worse. We’re not watching an Indiana Jones movie. We’re watching yet another MATRIX movie, as it turns out. Director Timur Bekmambetov (the Russian NIGHT WATCH/DAY WATCH) has apparently requested a name change to “Wachowski.” Words cannot describe how utterly, horridly SICK I am of SLOW MOTION BACKFLIPS AND SOMERSAULTS.

For the record, I saw this in 2-D and was told by all interested parties to avoid the crummy 3-D conversion. There WERE an abundance of dusty, dingy brown-tinted scenes (especially the horse stampede I alluded to earlier), but I seem to have caught a print with sharper image quality overall than what some others have reported.

Well, again, the critics who have stuck up for this movie (both Ebert and LaSalle among them) seem most impressed by the fact that it isn’t a spoof and that it shows them some things they’ve never seen before (Confederate vampire soldiers preparing to wipe out the North at Gettysburg, for instance). The setting itself WAS well-created, and there are elements of the film that I enjoyed, but I found myself wondering what, for instance, Generals Lee and Grant had to say about the vampire business while I was treated instead to “the bridge is burning, the train is falling, everybody jump, jump, JUMP!!!”

The last ten minutes of Hammer’s first Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing Dracula film remain far more exciting than ANY of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, VAMPIRE HUNTER.

Oh, and what a stupid epilogue, by the way.

Okay, Tim Burton, that’s two vampire flops in a row with your name attached to them. Think about it.

“The Hunger Games” (Film Review)

Tags

Battle Royale, Elizabeth Banks, Film Review, Gary Ross, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Katniss Everdeen, Liam Hemsworth, Novel, Peeta Mellark, Stanley Tucci, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Woody Harrelson, Young Adult

By Shane M. Dallmann

Virtually everybody reading this is well aware of THE HUNGER GAMES, poised to devour the box office and become the new “young adult” sensation as the TWILIGHT films fade into the sunset. Those who’ve been following my particular reviews for a while are probably aware that the “deadly game show” concept is one of my adopted cinematic specialties, and would probably like to know how I feel about the similarity between THE HUNGER GAMES and BATTLE ROYALE more than they wonder how I feel about the current pop culture phenomenon, however…

Well, first off, I find it quite remarkable that BATTLE ROYALE was considered too controversial for American release until very recently, while THE HUNGER GAMES is going to make a saturation PG-13 fortune. (I also turn your attention to a worthwhile article in TIME Magazine which ponders over the PG-13 awarded to this film as opposed to the R rating assigned to the would-be-helpful documentary BULLY simply because some of the latter’s subjects dropped a few of those four-letter words that every student hears every day.) Okay, the violence in THE HUNGER GAMES is stylized and toned-down to the point where it’s not nearly as traumatic as that of BATTLE ROYALE, but that’s certainly not the only difference.

Naturally, I wasn’t going to delve into something this contentious without doing my homework. I prepared for the HUNGER GAMES movie by reading the first book in the Suzanne Collins trilogy. And I’m prepared to state that THE HUNGER GAMES is not a ripoff of BATTLE ROYALE. I have no reason to think that Ms. Collins ever saw the Japanese film which hadn’t been officially released in the U.S. and which was only known to a cadre of hardcore film fans and manga enthusiasts. The “death sport of the future” is a tried and true staple, and it’s asking too much to suggest that Collins wasn’t capable of coming up with a variant involving youngsters on her own. This is an even less remarkable coincidence than the REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA/REPO MEN flap of recent years (same premise, different story and characters), or, if you want to dig back even further, the parts-and-parcels appropriated from Lucio Fulci’s THE NEW GLADIATORS for the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle THE RUNNING MAN (my cause célèbre of the late 1980s).

We’ve seen deathsports staged in the name of “giving the people what they want” (DEATH RACE 2000); as a substitute for global war designed to squelch individual personality (the original ROLLERBALL); as a TV ratings sensation (NEW GLADIATORS/RUNNING MAN, etc.); as a means to an unauthorized Web “killing” (THE CONDEMNED)… the list goes on, the list goes on. In BATTLE ROYALE, Japan was experimenting with a way to deal with potential troublemakers; and in THE HUNGER GAMES, the title games are staged as punishment for a long-ago rebellion and as a means to teach the population just who’s in charge… year after year.

I read the book with great interest (I don’t have to rehash the plot or characters, do I?)—I especially wanted to know if the story would fatally compromise itself by arranging to have young narrator/heroine Katniss survive the games without ever having to actually kill anyone herself. Such was not the case—spoilers end—color me satisfied. The book itself is quite reasonably effective and held my interest more than had any TWILIGHT entry (and yes, I’ve read all four of them).

The movie takes its time building up to the games themselves, which don’t commence until roughly an hour into the running time. Now, that’s fine for the book, which is first-person-narrated and supplies plenty of vital background and detail. The movie starts quite atmospherically with the depiction of the devastated District 12, but when we get to the Capitol? I notice a lot of critics complain that the future-chic look of the film (costumes, hairstyles) is a bit too silly, but frankly, it’s not a patch on THE FIFTH ELEMENT, which it seems to be trying to resemble. As we proceed through the first half of the film, it’s a good thing that we’ve got a legitimately talented actress in Jennifer Lawrence to carry things… and it’s an even better thing that such pros as Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci are there to spice things up. Then the games begin…

The action that follows is quite faithful to the book, with the exceptions being reasonable for the format. We break from the first-person format in order to supply information Katniss merely thought about for our benefit in the book, and to give Donald Sutherland (as President Snow) and Wes Bentley (as the Gamesmaster) more screen time in which to expound on the reasons behind the games and why this particular round doesn’t seem to be working to their advantage. (An interesting elimination from the book is the concept that the population is compelled to watch the games—here, we’re given a conversation between our young protagonists which suggests that there would be no need for the Games if people simply refused to watch—to me, that’s the wrong way to approach this story.) But every important thing that happened in the book happens in the movie, which also wisely dispenses with one of the novel’s more ludicrous revelations (there are savage beasts, but we’re spared the “Mutts” as such). I also liked the addition of the flash-mob Macarena staged by a rebellious district. Or maybe I made that part up because I was bored.

Oops. There. I said it. For all of its fidelity, for all of its controversy, for all of its promised action and suspense, the movie just isn’t all that exciting. I know—it’s supposed to be downbeat and dystopian. And I know that people complained about the non-action scenes in the original ROLLERBALL (I didn’t agree), but the clash itself delivered what it promised and then some—and it still does, no matter how many times I see it and no matter how well I know who’s going to be left standing when it’s all over. Not once during THE HUNGER GAMES did I feel any true tension. The book did, indeed, provide a reasonably fresh way to look at this controversial concept. But the movies have already taken depictions of such clashes to various extremes, and nothing THE HUNGER GAMES does can improve on what we’ve already seen plenty of times. But of course, the target audience isn’t likely to have seen any of its cinematic predecessors. And they’re going to make this a monster hit. And I hope it inspires them to dig a little further into the concept. We shall see…

Talkin’ with Polly Frost (Writer)

Tags

Abel Ferrara, Anais Nin, Book, Cameron Cloutier, Clive Barker, Dan Menaker, Dario Argento, Death, Deep Inside, Dialogue, Erotic, Female, Horror, Humor, Interview, Kinky, New Yorker, Novel, Novelist, Poet, Polly Frost, Porn, Quentin Tarantino, Ray Sawhill, Reading, Roger Vadim, Roman Polanski, Ron Jeremy, Sex, Suspiria, Viagra Babies, Writer, Writing

My interview with horror novelist, Polly Frost (“Deep Inside”).

Cameron: How soon in life did you first discover writing? What were some of the first things you wrote?

Polly Frost: I started writing when I was around seven or eight. I wrote  puppet shows, what I considered to be “novels,” but which were actually  about five page stories, and I had my own newspaper about the Southern California neighborhood I grew up in. I  don’t want this to sound like I was precocious. It was all really silly stuff, like the musical I wrote for my dog to star in, “Snoozy in Paris.” And my stuff was very derivative. I loved “Gub Gub’s Book” by  Hugh Lofting so I wrote a novel about a duck called “Tugbarn.” I wrote a  horror story in sixth grade that was very derivative of Poe in its  tone. I don’t remember the name of that story, but it had to do with  killing people by sending them spiders. I didn’t intend for my stuff to be funny, but people were always laughing at what I wrote. I didn’t want to become a professional writer, though. I wanted to be a  horse trainer when I was in my teens. I also modeled a bit and made my  own clothes and thought about being a fashion designer. Writing was just  something I seemed to be able to do and which got me through school. I  was a pretty indifferent student, but I could scrape by on the basis of  my papers, which my teachers generally found amusing, if not very  scholarly. But  I also got into trouble through my writing. I went to UCSB where there  was a famous literary critic who also ran the English department. He had  this great reputation as a Chaucerian and as an expert on eighteenth  century writers like Jane Austen and Samuel Richardson (who wrote  “Clarissa.”) But when I took one of his classes, I thought he was the  biggest windbag I’d ever heard. Plus he was having an affair with one of  the students in the class. Anyway, we didn’t get along and we had a  fight in class. I decided to mend fences with him by sending him a  letter. I thought I would win him over by making fun of myself — and my  part in our classroom argument — in a mock 18th century style. The letter was written by “Clarissa.” The professor called me into his  office. He wasn’t amused by my letter. He told me that on the surface I  seemed to making fun of myself, but that really I was making fun of him.  He said I had a brilliant satirical style. And that he never wanted to  see me again! (Yay, I got to drop his boring class.) After  college I spent five years trying to do other things with my life than  writing. But when I got into my late twenties I realized that humorous  and satirical writing was one of the few things I was any good at. I  started writing and sending humor pieces to magazines. One of the best  things that happened was I met Ray Sawhill, who was my age, but a much  better writer than I was. He helped me shape my humor pieces. (We got  married 22 years ago and have often collaborated on writing since.) And I  met Pauline Kael, who was the movie critic at The New Yorker. Pauline  liked some of my early humor pieces and she very generously took them to  Daniel Menaker, who was an editor there. To my amazement, The New Yorker bought some of my humor pieces. And Dan Menaker is not only one  of the best humor writers and editors — he’s also one of the funniest  people I’ve ever met. I’ve learned a lot about humor writing from  working with Dan over the years.

Cameron: What did your family and friends think initially? Did you pass your  writings around to get their opinions? Arguing your points as to why the  story/characters must be that way?

Polly Frost: Families are the last people a writer should ever look to for constructive criticism! Even if you have writers as parents. Because  family members are not looking at your work objectively. If they’re  smart they’re thinking, “Great, we have a writer in the family — now  all our secrets and skeletons will become fiction fodder for the whole  world to read.” And being related to a satirist is the worst. I wouldn’t want to be related to a satirist! But  I’m lucky. My family has a great sense of humor. In fact, laughing together was one of the things we always did best as a family.

Cameron: How did you come to writing not only in horror genre but in the  sub-genre: Erotic Horror? Was Clive Barker an influence? Anais Nin?

Polly Frost: I always loved horror. I grew up watching a lot of horror. Everything  from Roger Corman movies to Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby.” I was  lucky enough to be around for the sixties and seventies when you’d see  one great, daring horror movie after another. And I saw them in movie  theaters with shocked and outraged and titillated audiences. A movie Dario Argento’s “Suspiria” works well when you see it on DVD. But seeing  it with an audience when it was first out — that was amazing. The erotic horror stories I wrote in “Deep Inside” were primarily  influenced by the sexy horror movies of the 1970‘s. I do love Clive Barker’s stories. And I think that Anais Nin was herself a very scary character (someone should make a horror movie about her!) But really, I  wanted to write stories that were homages to my favorite horror and sci  fi films and filmmakers. I’m  a huge fan of Roger Vadim’s “Barbarella.” Jane Fonda has never been  better than she is in that film. She should have won an award for  Barbarella, not for the boring crap she did later like “On Golden Pond.” “The  Pleasure Invaders” — one of my stories in “Deep Inside” — is a  futuristic story about a female cop in Miami who’s supposed to be wiping  out the alien sex trafficking, but she’s hopelessly addicted to sex  with the alien creatures herself. I like to think of the story as being  influenced by “Barbarella” and also by Abel Ferrara’s “The Bad Lieutenant.”

Cameron: Being a writer, what was it like with boyfriends growing up? Did you  typically date creative people or were they upset you spent so much time  putting words to the page?

Polly Frost: I grew up in Santa Barbara and the L. A. area. Which would make you  think I’d have been dating surfers and jocks. Dammit, I was always  attracted to the arty types. Since  I didn’t write until I was in my late twenties, my writing was never an  issue. However, I was taking notes! I later based male characters on  the guys I knew in my teens and twenties. The high school jock in my  story “The Threshold” in “Deep Inside” is based on the guys I knew in my  teens. Not that I dated jocks, mind you. But I observed them!

Cameron: I know you have written at least one play with your husband, Ray Sawhill, in NYC. Can you talk about the writing process with someone  you’re married to? Do you keep strict office hours and just get on with it, or is it an all day, all night bang it out type of thing? Who does the writing and who does the pacing?

Polly Frost: We collaborate really easily with each other. We always have. We just  finished co-writing a psychological suspense novel. I’m really proud of  it (just sent it off to my agent to read). It’s a much better suspense  novel than I would ever have written alone. I think our collaborations  work because we have such different and complementary talents when it  comes to writing fiction. Ray is great at structure and description. My strength is in creating story hooks and characters.

Cameron: How do you get in the mood to write erotic horror? Music? Films? Taking  a drive? Relaxing in a warm bath? Making love with Karo Syrup?

Polly Frost: All those mood things you’re mentioning sound great! But were I to do  them I’d end up having sex rather than doing any writing. There’s a story in “Deep Inside” called “Viagra Babies.” The way that story  came to me was that I met this couple over dinner once. They were this  very good looking, actually pretty sexy couple. But really kind of  scary. They were very right wing and very into talking crack addict  mothers out of having abortions. They had this gleam in their eyes, this  mission they were on. Maybe they were nice, well meaning people. But  they were the kind of people that inspire the erotic horror writer in  me. Shortly after meeting them, I started thinking: What if there were  these people who were addicted to Viagra and they got pregnant and their  children were affected by all the Viagra they took? So instead of crack  babies you had Viagra babies? And I started writing the story as though it were being told by one of these Viagra babies, who is now 18.

Cameron: After writing intense imagery all day long, what is the best way for you to unwind?

Polly Frost: I don’t unwind well at all. I’m terrible at it. My husband, on the  other hand, is just great. He can let things go very quickly. But when I write a story, I get so far into the characters that they possess me.  And I have a hard time coming out of that and back into my own life. So if you or anyone reading this has any tips on how to unwind after writing, please let me know!

Cameron: Have you ever written something where you thought, “That’s too much?”  Or have you ever punched up a story because you thought it needed more bite?

Polly Frost: I’m not of the “less is more” school of writing. I’m of the “more is  always better” camp. But I don’t tend to punch up my writing because I  think of the story as coming out of the character/s. If the character  wouldn’t do it then I don’t write it. On the other hand, in my erotic  horror, the characters are pretty extreme to begin with!

Cameron: Tarantino once said the best way to write dialogue is to just let your  characters talk. How do you go about creating dialogue?

Polly Frost: Tarantino is right. I agree. But I think it helps to know what the  subtext of characters’ dialogue is. I took acting classes for a couple  of years and that was one of the best things I ever did for my writing,  especially my dialogue writing. Because in acting class you are always  asking: What is this character after? What are they really trying to get  by saying this? So  I think it only works to let one’s characters just talk if you have  that clear idea of what they’re really saying beneath their words.

Cameron: Do you conduct any research for your stories or are they simply a  product of a wonderful imagination? Ever actually done any of the things  you’ve written about?

Polly Frost: It depends on what kind of story it is. In co-writing our suspense  novel, Ray and I did a lot of research to ground the story in the  reality of the places it is set in. But  one of the stories in “Deep Inside” is about women who make voodoo  dildos. Now, that would be a hard one to research and even if I turned  up such women, they’d scare the life out of me to meet! And yes, I have done some of the things I write about. But if I told you which ones they were, I’d have to kill you, right?

Cameron: I know you have cited many classic horror films, but how do you feel  about horror films that tap into a child’s psyche? Such as “Willy  Wonka,” “The Watcher in the Woods,” “Something Wicked This Way Comes,”  “Gremlins.” Sometimes, I feel, they are far scarier than just teenagers  being knocked off by a manic. Stephen  King once wrote that “The Exorcist” was scary for a completely  different reason at first. You see, the book/movie came out at a time  when kids and teens were disobeying their parents, protesting the war, growing their hair out, smoking pot and the parents needed an answer as  to “Why?” I like that your work tells a surface story but that there are many layers to be discovered underneath (ala “Blue Velvet”).

Polly Frost: That’s a great question. I think the horror movies you’re listing tap  into primal fears — they’re not just the fears of children, but deep  fears that we all carry around for the rest of our lives. I’m not a fan  of much of the current YA fiction because a lot of it seems to be  written to address very PC fears — fears that librarians, rather than  teens — have. And  when it comes to the “Twilight” books and movies which are, of course,  hugely successful with teens, I think they’re successful because they’re  not really horror. I don’t think the “Twilight” stuff taps into any  primal fears except maybe that you won’t grow up good looking enough to  be one of the stars in a Twilight movie. And  King is right about “The Exorcist.” And not just disobeying their  parents — but seemingly perfectly okay kids suddenly turning into  Manson followers.

Cameron: What is the scariest image you have created (to date)?

Polly Frost: I think my humor piece about designer dog breeds — which has some  drawings I did of new dog hybrids like the iDog, the EcoDoodle and the  Shih-Tube — has the scariest images I’ve ever created. But I’ve  discovered I’m alone in this. Many people have told me they find that  humor piece and the drawings in it adorable!

Cameron: I know you write in all sorts of genres, including humor–so what’s next for you?

Polly Frost: I’m always writing humor, even when I write horror. I like to think the stories in “Deep Inside” are funny as well as hot. My current humor project is my one person show “How to Survive Your Adult Relationship with Your Family” which I’m performing in Santa Barbara on  August 18th at Oreana Winery, on September 21st at Studio Live in  Sedona, on October 22nd at Cornelia Street Cafe in NYC and on November  3rd at Bard’s Town Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky. This  show was the toughest thing I ever wrote because it’s somewhat  autobiographical and I was turning some difficult experiences into  humor. During the time I wrote it, I was pretty impossible, I have to  admit. Ray twice threatened to divorce me! But  the first time I performed it in NYC in June, I heard people laughing  at all the  stuff that had been painful to access and write about. And  that was great. I  may be unusual in this as a writer, but I love performing. What can I  say? I’m an audience whore. And as a humor writer, I love hearing the laughter directly. I mean, it’s nice to have someone write and say they  laughed out loud over your humor piece — but there’s nothing like  connecting with a live audience.

Cameron: Can you talk about the sci-fi web series you produced?

Polly Frost: “The Fold” is a comic sci fi web series that I co-wrote and co-produced  along with my husband and the director of it, Matt Lambert. Matt is the  best. He’s this incredible young director who is super talented and yet  the nicest guy in the world to work with. I know he’s going to make  some amazing films. And he loves horror, god bless him. The  three of us made “The Fold” for 8 grand. We cast NYC actors and  burlesque peformers — and we were lucky to have some of the best in it:  Karen Grenke, Julie Atlas Muz, Jake Thomas, Josh Matthews, Jeremy  Lawrence. And we’re pleased that so many people like “The Fold.” You can watch it here: http://blip.tv/the-fold

Cameron: Any chance we might see some of your stories produced into short films or features?

Polly Frost: Matt Lambert and I have wanted to turn my story “The Pleasure Invaders”  into a feature film. Matt would be the perfect person to direct it.

Cameron: You are an amazing, talented writer. How can one follow you on social media?

Polly Frost: Aw, that’s so nice of you! I’m on Facebook more than Twitter. I try to  have fun on Facebook and I have enjoyed meeting a lot of interesting  people on it. One thing I’ve learned about Facebook is that it’s not a  great place to promote yourself in any hardcore way. People quickly  resent anything like that and they’ll just hide you. So I ask what I  hope are fun questions and try to keep an enjoyable atmosphere on my page.

Cameron: Any famous followers of your work?

Polly Frost: My favorite famous follower is porn legend, Ron Jeremy, who wrote the  most wonderful praise for “Deep Inside.” He said it gave him a boner.  I’m a huge fan of Ron.

Cameron: What’s the best advice someone has given you about writing and/or life?

Polly Frost: The best advice I ever got was from my father who wrote me a letter  when I was thirty and said that I should give it up and that he would  have told Tolstoy the same thing. I treasure that letter! And I have  never let my dad forget it. The two of us find it hilarious and when he  turned 75 I roasted him at his birthday party over it. But  honestly, it was great advice because it made me think about how much I  wanted to be a writer. I see a lot of young people who’ve been given  all this positive feedback — too much positivity — about being artists  and writers. And then when they get into the real world of it, they  can’t handle the ups and downs and they quit. Really what my dad’s letter made me realize is that I hadn’t chosen to be a  writer. Writing had chosen me. It’s my karma and I gotta live it out in  this life as a writer.

Cameron: Where can others find out more about you?

Polly Frost: http://pollyfrost.com

Cameron: Thank you for your time, Polly. It was really nice talking with you.

Polly Frost: Thank you–and I’m  very excited about your upcoming film “Bird with a Broken Wing” (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Bird-with-a-Broken-Wing/122071967874279)— best wishes for a great success with that.