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Author Topic: Shocktober Group Marathon 2011  (Read 58751 times)

Corndog

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #240 on: October 24, 2011, 09:51:13 PM »
Duly noted.
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Bondo

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #241 on: October 24, 2011, 10:18:34 PM »
Born

Obviously this didn't look great, but I took it on as a bit of a jokey entry into Shocktober due to Alison Brie's presence in the lead role. It wasn't a fun experience though. I've been watching a lot of indie festival submissions the past month, not necessarily a benchmark of consistent technical and acting prowess. I can say assuredly that this film would not make it into the festival. It has moments of technical competence that does not extend to anything dealing with special effects which just look terrible. And the acting here, including Alison Brie, is really inept.

The story is a variation on the demon spawn tale, most recently seen by me in Rosemary's Baby. On the day of her mother's funeral (and apparently also dia de los muertos), she is raped by her deceased demon brother and becomes pregnant despite being a virgin. At this point she battles with demonic possession that leads to bloody acts and blah blah blah. The film feels way too long and nothing in the story is particularly notable.

I do want to take a moment on pet peeve...body doubles. And this isn't just a result of wanting to see Annie's Boobs. In the two scenes where you are meant to be seeing Alison Brie's character's breasts, the fact that it is a body double demands an editing selection that alternates between head shot (establishing it "really" is her) and a torso shot. I think this makes for worse cinematography generally (compare to the scene in Teeth with Jess Weixler...if that scene was edited like Born it would have made that shot much less compelling. You see, breasts aren't as expressive as someone's face, so any time you spend just focused in on them is time you aren't getting any useful emotion out of the scene. Additionally, cutting to the shot of a naked torso minus a head has a heavier indication of objectification...it smells more of desperation to get T&A in the film. Of course, this film doesn't rely entirely on Brie's body double on this, three other actresses get naked (clearly not in body double form) in the film and the final third seems to happen with twin demon blondes standing fully naked in the background. There's just an icky feeling about the nudity here. But going beyond the effect of the body double on the film itself, it doesn't inspire much confidence in the actor/actress either. I reckon if you aren't willing to do nudity, don't take a part that has nudity involved (or convince them the film doesn't actually need nudity in the part).

1/5

1SO

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Shocktober Group Marathon 2011 - Night of the Demon by 1SO
« Reply #242 on: October 24, 2011, 11:59:01 PM »


Night of the Demon (1957)

Night of the Demon has a pretty classic reputation in the horror genre. It stars Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins.  Frequent Hitchcock collaborator Charles Bennett cowrote the script, and it was directed by the legendary Jacques Tourneur, a master of suggested terror that hides in the shadows. While, I wouldn't call the final product classy, I did have a hell of a good time watching it.

The plot involves satanic worship, evil curses and a man who is marked for death. That man is a doctor who steadfastly doesn't believe in the magic of the occult. Of course, he doesn't realize he's in a horror movie, but the good Dr. Holden doesn't come off as naive or dumb. In fact, if this was a real life situation, you'd completely side with his point of view. Tourneur sets up excellent dramatic tension with this Scully in a Mulder world. Holden goes from recklessly defiant to cautious and protective, and this isn't handled through dialogue but by simply watching how the character handles increasingly unexplainable events as his time of death draws closer. That deadline creates a rolling tension much like the pregnancy in Rosemary's Baby, building to a climax where you will be clutching your pillow as a man descends into the dark of night, chasing after his destiny.

That is if you're not distracted by the fishing line.

You see, while Tourneur generates tension and atmosphere much more overtly than in Cat People, he also has his illusions shattered by the limits of his budget and 1950s effects. Don't get me wrong, I had a fun time, but there were fantastical moments that would probably draw unintended laughs even in a room full of serious movie fans. The more special the effect needed to be, the cheaper and sillier it looked. This isn't just the demon, though that is the obvious example. There's also a seance that's really hokey and I was amused by how dismissive Holden is of suggestive spiritual techniques and alleged black magic, yet he's a firm supporter of hypnotism. This is another scene that I found mostly effective but also kind of silly. We also get yet another bad looking attack from a cat. (Can someone please name me a film where this doesn't look fake?) Still, I had a fun time overall and would recommend Night of the Demon.
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Junior

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #243 on: October 25, 2011, 12:07:57 AM »
I watched that last night, too. I didn't mind the fishing line, and I thought the demon was pretty scary, as long as they didn't linger on the shot.

What I didn't like was the way the main guy kept not believing anything. I understand that his character is the doubter but there comes a time when you just gotta accept you're in a horror film.

I also didn't like the bad guy very much. He seemed like he would be intimidating if he talked a little slower but his motormouth style just didn't work for the character.
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1SO

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #244 on: October 25, 2011, 12:25:30 AM »
They tried to make the demon effective through fast editing, but it looked silly. It also looked like about 6 different demons of different sizes with unchangeable expressions.

Did you notice though that after the fireplace he does start believing? It isn't a sudden 180 degree reversal, but he starts to doubt himself. He'll say he doesn't believe to protect his reputation, but it comes off like a guy puffing his chest. He wants to grab the paper from the fire grate too, but doesn't want to appear weak. So he goes to the window first, takes his time. But he puts the parchment somewhere safe. The next time it tries to blow away, he grabs it and holds on tight. He can feel it trying to escape and is much more convinced of it's black magic. By the end, he clearly is convinced. I think he scoffs for too long only in terms of this being a horror film. Logically thinking, he starts to get convinced at just the right time.

The bad guy did seem off. I assumed it was the pointed beard, the type only a strange and evil man would wear.

Junior

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #245 on: October 25, 2011, 12:34:16 AM »
Yeah, I noticed it. It was still annoying.

The beard was hilarious, too. It's so silly.
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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #246 on: October 25, 2011, 04:37:27 PM »
I watched The Thing 1982 last year on Blu Ray and thought the practical makeup effects were still some of the greatest, most creative ever conceived. At the end of the review on this weeks podcast they said that you can see the wires and Carpenter could've benefitted from modern technology. What am I missing?

jim brown

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #247 on: October 25, 2011, 04:43:49 PM »
I watched The Thing 1982 last year on Blu Ray and thought the practical makeup effects were still some of the greatest, most creative ever conceived. At the end of the review on this weeks podcast they said that you can see the wires and Carpenter could've benefitted from modern technology. What am I missing?

Nothing, 1SO.  They were wrong; it happens.
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Bondo

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #248 on: October 26, 2011, 12:14:48 PM »
White Zombie

The modern zombie has almost invariably been an uncontrolled, instinctual beast driven by the need for flesh. As an element of horror this may be an ideal conception. White Zombie however creates a zombie, the reanimated dead, that is in a pacified state of mind control that allows them to exist as an uncanny, but not immediately terrifying, population of slaves. While zombie stories have been used to discuss race and the like before using the them vs. us distinction, naturally having a group of zombies as slaves opens up its own line of social commentary. Indeed, with this conception, the distinction between the undead and the simply possessed is not necessarily crucial and you blend into things like the Imperious curse in Harry Potter or hypnosis. This is the fear that your mind could be taken over and you could be forced to do things against your will. You can draw the line of what you consider a zombie where you want, but they are a related concept.

In the case of White Zombie, the real focus is a kind of "be careful what you wish for" terror. A wealthy man living in Haiti lusts after women, traveling with her fiancee, that he meets on a boat to Haiti. He conspires with a man trained in the dark arts (Bela Lugosi) to capture her. Unfortunately he finds that winning her body but losing her spirit isn't the same as having her love.

Unfortunately this conflict isn't necessarily central and developed beyond one or two scenes. There is enough craft of the old monster movie style to make this a satisfying enough experience (and mercifully short) but it's one that hinted at potential thematic greatness. It should be remade in full feminist glory as a rebuffing of objectification of women or something.

3/5

verbALs

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #249 on: October 26, 2011, 02:26:03 PM »
I watched The Thing 1982 last year on Blu Ray and thought the practical makeup effects were still some of the greatest, most creative ever conceived. At the end of the review on this weeks podcast they said that you can see the wires and Carpenter could've benefitted from modern technology. What am I missing?
Mate I put the same comment on the show discussion page. I took on board that the co-host only saw the film recently so I can understand where he was coming from, from a modernist point of view. He was still badly wrong.

@Bondo re White Zombie; that is a really good review. I could see you really felt that concept. Nice insight.
« Last Edit: October 26, 2011, 02:28:04 PM by verbALs »
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