Dead Poets Society (1989) **1/2

The inspirational teacher remains a popular movie trope. Goodbye Mr. Chips celebrated the dutiful teacher dedicated to his students, and many classic films followed in that spirit. Dead Poets Society is remembered as one of Robin Williams's memorable roles, one that earned him an Oscar nomination and was fondly memorialized after his passing. Set at a New England Prep School during the 1950s, Williams plays an anti-conformist poetry teacher who inspires his students in the right ways and wrong ways.

Peter Weir's direction complements the Williams performance. At the vanguard of the Australian Wave 1970s cinema, Weir directed multiples classics including The Cars That Ate Paris, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave, and Gallipoli all notable for their distinct sense of setting and history. Weir made two films with Harrison Ford in the mid-1980s; the popular Witness set in Pennsylvania Amish country and The Mosquito Coast a prescient and moody fable of American hubris and the colonizer mentality. 

The insular Prep School (Welton Academy) environment suits Weir's sensibility and mirrors Hanging Rock which was set at a Girls School during the early 20th Century. Dead Poets Society lacks the sense of mystery of Hanging Rock and instead tells a more focused story (the boys retreating to the cave to read poetry may be an indirect reference) one might find on an After School special. 

Robin Williams stars as John Keating, the new English teacher at the academy. The students all come from white families of privilege and are destined for Ivy League colleges and lucrative careers. Notables among the cast of students are Ethan Hawke in an early role as a shy student and Robert Sean Leonard (Neil) as a sensitive young man inspired to pursue acting by Mr. Keating. 

Williams certainly commands every scene he's in, but the story's not really about his character. Next to nothing is revealed about his personal life or about his past (in an early version of the script he was struggling with cancer). While the students are skeptical of his unorthodox teaching methods at first: ripping out pages of the textbook and arguing that poetry should be viewed as a way of life, they come to admire him as a role model. The now often repeated slogan of the movie, "Carpe Diem" (seize the day) inspires the boys to take risks, but at the same time leads to conflicts with their elders. This is where the movie suffers from not revealing more about Keating: Has he lived by his own principles? 

Keating's anti-academic approach to teaching poetry is illustrated in the scene where he defies the need to study poetry strictly by looking at form (meter and verse). Keating mirrors the Beats of the 1950s, although neither Ginsburg nor Howl are referenced. Keating's teaching methods put him at odds with administration who want to deter students from pursuing the arts instead of a professional career. It's an indictment of a system designed to stifle creativity that remains the ethos in the even more careerist educational system of the 21st Century. 

As the administration notices a change in Keating's students, the Dean (Norman Lloyd) begins to get suspicious. When Neil's passion for acting bring him into conflict with his conservative father it leads to tragedy. The false optimism of the final scene speaks to an emptiness running throughout the film. At one point Williams appears to go into his stand-up routine doing a Brando impression, a moment that now lands as forced. Neither is there much personality among the students who continually view Keating as more of an entertainer than a teacher. 

While Dead Poets Society is obviously speaking to 1950s conformity, a less melodramatic approach to the material would have allowed for nuance on the theme of teaching methods and purpose of an education.

Hard Eight ***1/2 (1996)

Hard Eight opens with the image of a forlorn looking young man sitting outside a diner entrance with his head hung down. Thus, begins the first feature length film from Paul Thomas Anderson.

Originally titled Sydney and loosely based on Anderson's short film Cigarettes and Coffee (both starred Philip Baker Hall), Hard Eight is not so much a story about redemption, but one about loyalty and survival. 

An imposing, but genial, figure Sydney invites John to join him for breakfast and offers to help him out. Sydney teaches John how to manipulate slot machines and the two forge a bond. Sydney knows how the world works - and his own limitations. He takes a risk management approach to everything. Everything from business relationships to crap games to fashion choices are governed by principles, it all comes down to minimizing the losses.

When the story jumps ahead two years Sydney and John are in a de facto partnership. Anderson tends to cast Reilly as a well meaning simpletons, his naivete both a strength and weakness. Hall played Richard Nixon in Secret Honor, one of Anderson's favorite films. In Hard Eight he's playing a more benevolent version of Nixon, a figure with a tempered strength barely veiling a haunted darkness. 

Their partnership is complicated with the entrance of Jimmy and Clementine. Jimmy works in security and is a small time hustler on the side. Clementine is a waitress/call girl John falls for. Jackson and Paltrow were up and coming stars at the time. Jackson delivers a nuanced performance with his suave intensity, while Paltrow brings a humanity to a tropey type of role. 

Now eight films into his career (with one in post-production), Anderson loves to subvert the family structure, focused on the intricacies of these relationships and how they evolve over the passage of time. After John and Clementine get married they get themselves into a dicey situation of their own doing. When called in to help, Sydney is faced with agonizing decisions. The scene in the hotel room is impressively acted and rippling with tragedy, the real climax of the movie (the denouement plays out with a fatalistic melancholy.)

A keen character study of characters on the fringes sometimes at odds and sometimes helping each other out, Hard Eight is a throwback to New Hollywood cinema with its beautiful losers and regal tones. 

The Truman Show ****

The Truman Show predicted the coming of reality television at almost the exact moment the phenomenon hit. Also notable for being Jim Carrey's first foray into a serious role, Carrey would go on to play many dramatic roles and abandoned his Ace Ventura persona, here he's channeling a parodic version of Jimmy Stewart. Upon revisiting The Truman Show I was taken surprised at how fast the movie whizzes by in under two hours. Directed by Australian filmmaker Peter Weir, his focus on the fine line between utopia and dystopia still resonates. 

Jim Carrey plays Truman Burbank, an insurance salesman who lives in an idyllic island community which unbeknownst to him is actually the largest television set in the world. Millions tune in everyday to watch the daily activities of Truman. Adopted by a corporation at the time of his birth, the world has watched him grow into adulthood. Behind the scenes Christof (Ed Harris) is the God like producer manipulating every aspect of Truman's reality. Laura Linney plays Truman's fake wife Meryl and Noah Emmerich is the prototypical best friend Marlon. 

Seahaven is idealized version of a 1950s sitcom universe. A harmonious community of mostly white couples with white collar jobs. Truman works for an insurance company, but it's clear he's restless and starting to question his reality. He cannot point to anything specific, just a feeling. Product placement is everywhere, Truman's been conditioned to be pitchman for all sorts of products. The TV show is a massive commercial enterprise feeding the capitalist system. At the same time the world of Seahaven is set up to keep Truman complacent and content. A few have attempted to tell Truman the truth over the years, but it's a realization he must reach himself. 

The Truman Show invites everyone to put on their cultural critic hat. Today many aspire to be the star of their own reality shows and many have found a way to do it through social media. Facebook, Twitter, youtube instagram and a myriad of other platforms allow anyone to become the star of their own lives, some with substantial audiences. If 20+ years of reality stars and digital stars have taught us anything, it's all fleeting and artificial. The highest aspiration for an ambitious social media user is to become an influencer, they have their own hustle and eventually become unwitting tools of parties with a better hustle, supported by corporate wealth. Digital celebrities in the end become glorified advertisers. Like Truman, their humanity is reduced to a pre-packaged product consumed by the masses and used by corporations. 

Marshall McLuhan wrote all media works us over completely. Few films better illustrate this than The Truman Show. Peter Weir's direction jolts us when we shift to the real world, who in the film are composed of people watching the show in a parody of the Spielberg gaze. Observing the doings of a reality show character cannot compete with spaceships landing or a boy riding a bicycle over the moon. Christof comes across as a villainous version of a Spielberg or Lucas type figure, supremely confident in his ability to manipulate the emotions of millions - most of all Truman. Like all the best visual artists he knows the power of imagery and has a primal sense of narrative, which can also be used for nefarious purposes. Ed Harris is quite effective in his limited screen time as a futuristic master of cinema and narrative/marketing strategies.

Peter Weir maintains a humanistic touch throughout. A modern version of Plato's Cave Allegory, we are all conditioned by our environment but also have the ability to see beyond it. Every dystopian story deals with the human need to pursue a life that's fulfilling, not a life under control by outside parties. The Truman Show never answers the question: What happens when one shatters the confines of their controlled world? There's no need to, from an existential perspective the victory is the realization itself. 

As an afterthought, many have written about the "What is reality?" type movies coming out during the turn of the millennium including Fight Club, eXistenZ, The Thirteenth Floor, Dark City, and most famously The Matrix. The Truman Show eschewed the dark and nihilist tone of those films and rooted itself in a not so bizarro reflection of our own world. Unlike the 1976 classic Network which was a little too on the nose with its satire, The Truman Show is a modern fable and appropriately ends on such a note. 

The Queen's Gambit (2020) ****

 

Written and Directed by Scott Frank (based on the novel by Walter Tevis)

Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Camp, Moses Ingram, Marielle Heller, Harry Melling, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Marcin Dorocinski

The Queen's Gambit is long form television at its best. Based on the novel by Walter Tevis* the limited series breezes by over seven episodes, each approximately an hour long. Anya Taylor-Joy is a revelation as chess prodigy Beth Harmon, an intriguing, fictionalized character traversing through the 1960s. Going along with Beth on her journey is a rewarding experience as she perseveres through a myriad of challenges. Like Beth, the plot stumbles at times, but always lands on its feet.

The analogies between Chess and the Cold War go back to the very beginning of the era. Whether it was Herman Kahn or Henry Kissinger writing bestselling tomes on nuclear diplomacy or more literally during the 1972 World Chess Championship matches between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spaasky. Early in the series I was concerned Beth would end up being a female version of Fischer, especially when a Life Magazine reporter quizzes her with questions about chess prodigies being destined to lose their minds. But the story steers away from that direction. The 2014 film Pawn Sacrifice deals with Fischer, which I've also reviewed on this site.

A recurring theme is the tension between solitary life and one of connection. Beth comes of age in an orphanage after losing her mom and discovers chess. The custodian (Bill Camp) appears foreboding at first, but sees Beth's gift and teaches her the game. Jolene, an African American resident at the orphanage, becomes Beth's best friend and plays a key role towards the end. Beth also becomes addicted to tranquilizers, which were apparently administered to orphans during this era, but the drugs seem to clear her mind for chess. After becoming a local sensation after defeating the local High School team, Beth does not return to chess until High School after she's adopted by a middle-aged couple from Kentucky.

Socially isolated at school, Beth joins the chess club and swiftly decimates all the local competition. In time Beth bonds with her adoptive Mom Alma (Heller) as they pool their resources and become travel companions. Beth takes the chess world by storm. Typically, the only female competing at tournaments, she navigates through the male dominated world and develops relationships along the way with socially awkward Henry (Beltik) and flamboyant U.S. champion Benny (Brodie-Sangster) (with a persona somewhere between Leonardo Di Caprio and D.J. Qualls.) Polish actor Marcin Dorocinski is also memorable as the Soviet champion "Borgov" who's mere presence says wonders in an almost silent performance, who, in the words of Beth, plays chess "like a bureaucrat." All these relationships evolve and payoff by the end.

As the 1960s swing into gear Beth moves along with the changes. Taking style points from a composite of iconic figures ranging from Ann Margaret, Edie Sedgwick, and Nico as she becomes a confident adult. Beth navigates through creative inertia, drinking binges, and eventually achieves a balance (with a little help from her friends.) While the story does build to conventional confrontation with her Soviet rival, every moment of it is earned.

Chess matches, not the most cinematic activity, are always suspenseful and fast paced. Steven Zaillian's underrated 1994 film Searching for Bobby Fisher about a child prodigy was an obvious influence. Yet chess remains in the background, the focus is always on the relationships. The set designs are memorable, a recreation of the 1960s bordering on fantastical. Musically the choices are never overbearing as many films covering this era can be, "Venus" by Shocking Blue is used memorably. Anchored by a charismatic lead performance by Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen's Gambit is a masterclass of storytelling.

(Tony Macklin's review provides valuable background and insight on the writings of Walter Tevis),

The Phenomenon (2020) ***

 

Directed by James Fox

Narrated by Peter Coyote

The Phenomenon covers the history of UFO phenomenon as told mostly by former military personnel and other government officials. Produced with a stately tone minus the tin foil hat crowd drawn to this subject like moths to a flame (they've graduated to more (flat) earth based conspiracies for the moment), the documentary backs off from making major assertions about contacts with extraterrestrials, mainly concerned with what governments know and what they are not revealing to the public. At the same time it covers much of the same ground as TV shows like In Search of . . or Unsolved Mysteries. Intriguing questions are raised, but those hoping for smoking guns and mind blowing confessions will be disappointed.

UFO's were back in the headlines last spring when the Pentagon released footage of some strange craft pilots have encountered over the years. With the pandemic commanding everyone's attention, the story did not prove to be a watershed in saga government secrecy on the subject. Interest in UFO has somewhat waned over the past few decades, but has by no means disappeared. The realm of conspiracy theories has more competing narratives than usual these days. In a time of political polarization with people suspicious of their neighbors, teachers, dog catchers, and pizza parlors - conspiracy theories are like rocket fuel. While I joked about UFO believers in the previous paragraph it is a topic that brings together people from different political stripes and diverse professions ranging from academia, the military, law enforcement, the scientific community, and pockets of political circles. Maybe some hope in that regard?

The Phenomenon begins in the 1940s when reports of UFO sightings increased all over the world. Pilots reported encountering strange craft in the sky. There's the requisite recounting of the "Roswell Incident" that was probably a weather balloon crash, as Carl Sagan covered in his final book The Demon Haunted Earth. The so called "UFO Invasion" of Washington DC in July of 1952 also gets covered but with hardly any context. Much attention is given to odd activity around nuclear weapons bases, and reports of UFO craft messing with nuclear missile systems during the Cold War in the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1994 it was reported that ET craft landed near a school in Zimbabwe. Children at the school believe they interacted with "visitors" from the craft and the documentary includes their reunion 20 years later when they recall the incident. These people obviously experienced something, but the "ET" explanation bears no supporting evidence beyond eyewitness reports.

In recent decades politicians have expressed interest in UFOs. President Bill Clinton expressed an interest and asked for a special investigation of Roswell, but admits he learned little from his inquiries. Harry Reid, retired Senator from Nevada, also attempted to investigate the Pentagon for more transparency on the issue. Few have taken it seriously or expressed their concerns to the public. The Phenomenon suggests there's a government within the government deep state that knows all the secrets. Or perhaps some sort of global organization? Oh man, just listen to me.

That's the problem with documentaries of this type. They raise questions, but never raise the right questions. A sociological or psychological explanation would be helpful, since all questions regarding these phenomenon come down to more nuanced and complicated explanations that often involve religion. Carl Jung proposed such an approach to the issue of UFOS, but the public gets sidetracked into the rabbit hole of government conspiracies. For all I know there's a galactic body somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy keeping close tabs on Earth so things don't get too crazy. I'm certain that Brexit, the death of Prince, and election of Trump set off a Five Alarm Fire. But until there's overwhelming evidence, I'll remain a skeptic. 

Film Discoveries of 2020

 

Here's a list of new films I discovered in 2020. They're in no particular order. Many of these were discovered on Amazon Prime, which I consider the closest thing to visiting those mom and pop video stores back in the VCR era. TCM deserves credit as well for another stellar year of programming. Many were also discovered form podcasts, notably the Pure Cinema Podcast and The Projection Booth Podcast. Mike White hosts the Projection Booth Podcast and has been hosting excellent virtual watch parties of rare films throughout the year on Friday nights. I also want to include a shout out to the Important Film Podcast hosted by Will Sloan and Justin Decloux who cover a staggering variety of films and genres each week, both are unabashed proselytizers for the cinema of Matt Farley. Here they are in particular order:

American Scary (2006, John E. Hudgens) - I enjoyed this documentary on horror hosts on American television. Local stations from the 60s to the 80s would run horror movies on the weekend that were accompanied by a host providing entertainment, usually to distract from the low quality films. Unfortunately, local TV stations would rather run infomercials or CSI reruns instead of original programming. In their own way horror hosts allowed local talent to shine and provided a sense of community.

The Cremator (1969, Juraj Herz) Brilliant and haunting film about a cremator who views his vocation as divine - transforming once living people into ashes. Set in Czechoslovakia on the eve of the 1938 German invasion, the plot takes some unexpected turns that deals with collaboration, antisemitism, nationalism, and the corrosive psychology of fascism.  Innovative editing with astounding performances. 

Baby It's You (1983, John Sayles) Set to a Bruce Springsteen soundtrack, the best example of anti-nostalgia I've yet to see. John Sayles zeroed in on the sense of ennui and desperation of the Sixties that's hardly ever represented in movies. Many people (including myself) who weren't there for the 1960s tend to see it through rose colored glasses.

My Beautiful Launderette (1985, Stephen Frears) Set in Thatcher's Britain, Pakistani, the examines the complex relationship between the English and Pakistani communities. Omar (Gordan Warnecke) aspires to be an entrepreneur with the help of his lover, a one time street thug/fascist played by Daniel Day Lewis. The film feels more relevant than ever with its intertwining themes of politics, economics, race, and sexuality. Roshan Seth gives an awesome performance as a radical journalist exiled to England. 

The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973, Ivan Dixon) Too inflammatory for 1973 due to its sympathetic approach to black militancy, there's few films quite like it then or since. Am African-American man working for the CIA (hired as a token black by WASPS who run the agency) leaves out in disgust and applies CIA subversion tactics to American cities under going civil unrest.

Park Row (1952, Sam Fuller) Engaging and fast paced story about journalism in 1886.  The unveiling of the Statue of Liberty is a key plot point, an idealistic and even romantic film at times. Every character has their eye on the future as if pulled by some magical force. Fuller's direction moves like a freight train. 

Cosmos (2019, Elliot Weaver, Zandra Weaver) A modern Sci-Fi film with a beating heart, accomplishing what many set out to do on a much larger budget. Three astronomers come across strange signals and make some astonishing discoveries over the course of a night. Although the dialogue is stilted at times, it's a slow burn in the best possible sense. You might have to an amateur astronomer to appreciate this one. 

You Only Live Once (Fritz Lang, 1936) Star crossed lovers on the run, it would make a great pairing with They Live by Night. Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney exude tragic fate in their performances, downbeat in the best possible sense. 

Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973, Gilbert Cates) Heavy going Bergman influenced drama about a middle aged couple at a crossroads. Excellent performances from all. Martin Balsam gets a lead role for one and he's memorable alongside Joanne Woodward. 

This Giant Paper Mache Boulder is Actually Really Heavy (2016, Christian Nicolson) Endlessly inventive Sci-Fi parody from New Zealand. If you're fan of Edgar Wright films or Spaceballs, you'll love this gem. 

Tribulation 99: Alien Anomalies in America (1992, Craig Baldwin) A hilarious mockumentary imagining the  post WWII political climate from a tripped out right wing perspective imagining a shadow war against hollow earth people manipulating world history. The filmmaker definitely did his research and used stock footage to perfection. The narration is surreal and hilarious. 

Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself With Tea (1977, Jindrich Polak) A wacky time travel film from Czechoslovakia. It's 1996 and time travel using rockets is a vibrant part of the tourism industry. A group of ex-Nazis want to travel back and give Hitler the H-bomb, but that's only scratching the surface of the plot. Yes, a character getting scalded with tea is a key part of the story. I was reminded of Chaplin films, imagining the tramp on a time travel journey. Pratfalls and metaphysical jokes - endlessly inventive and fun!

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's "Island of Dr. Moreau" (2014, David Gregory) One of the best troubled production genre of documentaries. You get a visionary director pushed to the edge of sanity, Val Kilmer behaving badly, and (very) late period Brando. 

Don't Let the Riverbeast Get You! (2012, Charles Roxburgh) My intro to this film universe. Set in New Hampshire, the deadpan humor and dialogue are unique. It had the feeling of a live action Simpsons episode with an Ed Wood sensibility. Lots of great physical comedy as well, fighting and dancing!!

Harold and Maude (1971, Hal Ashby) I was late to this one, but if you haven't seen it - it's great!

No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos (2008, James Chressanthis)  Engaging on documentary on the careers of legendary cinematographers Vilmos Zsigmond and Laszlo Kovacs. Both refugees from Hungary, they would revolutionize cinematography during their careers. Many familiar faces appear, but there are so many great films to cover I feel like some got short thrift. A must see for fans of New Hollywood.

Stay Tuned (1992, Peter Hyams) Light hearted parity of early 90s pop culture with John Ritter and Pam Dawber. So much of its time period, it's hard to resist. Ritter plays a couch potato who gets sucked into his television set. 

Going Back (1983, Ron Teachworth) It's the summer of 1964 and best friends Clee and Brice (early Bruce Campbell performance) decide to hitchhike around Michigan. Along the way they befriend a lonely older man and help him out with his farm, meanwhile Brice connects with a shy local girl. Four years later they return and discover it's hard to recapture the past. Going Back is a moving film about the decisions we make and how time passes quickly. The acting in this regional film is perfect and real. Streaming on Prime - highly recommended.

Images (1972, Robert Altman) Mesmerizing and haunting, with an awesome performance by Susannah York. My favorite Altman period, would be make a good double bill with Rosemary's Baby (I know Repulsion is the obvious choice). Interesting John Williams score.

Horror All-Nighter: 2020

 Inspired by the Pure Cinema Podcast, I decided to do a horror movie all night marathon. The goal is to watch six movies from 7pm-7am, from dusk till dawn. As a rule, classic trailers are interspersed between the features. 

Trailers: The Last House on the Left (1972); The Hand (1981)

7pm - Natural Born Killers (1994, Oliver Stone) Technically not a horror film if one is strict about genre definitions, but Natural Born Killers is very much about American horror. From a Quentin Tarantino story, which he sold for $10,000, leading to an acrimonious feud between Mr. Stone and Tarantino. Still a divisive film with its sensationalistic depiction of violence, the story follows couple Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis) who go on a killing spree after they tie the knot, are subsequently captured, and sent to prison where they foment a bloody riot. Edited in a hyperkinetic style that recalls 60s psychedelia, but also mimicking MTV videos that were airing 24 hours a day in the 1990s, Stone never gives the audience a chance to breathe. Much of the controversy revolves around whether Stone was scolding Americans for their love of media hyped crime stories or, even worse, inviting audiences to revel in the chaos. As Stone states in the blu-ray introduction, effective satire must shock audiences. As the Mickey and Mallory unleash madness across the American West they become media heroes, a Bonnie and Clyde for the MTV generation. In flashbacks to their childhoods we see a history of neglect and abuse, especially in Mallory's awful household that's set to a sitcom laugh track. Rodney Dangerfield plays her lecherous father in one of the most disturbing performances you'll ever see in any movie. In 2020 the film has prophetic overtones. A killing spree has the look of a mass shooting, now a staple of life of America. True Crime podcasts and TV shows are bigger and more mainstream than ever before. The tabloid culture of the 1990s elected a tabloid president in 2016 (got 60 million votes) who proclaimed he could start shooting random people from a skyscraper and not lose any support. So yes, the crude, violent, and hypocritical America trumpeting family values while dooming their children's future, yeah, felt relevant this time around. Moving on!

Trailers: M (1931); Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 

9pm - Bluebeard (1944, Edgar G. Ulmar) I watched this one on a poor quality DVD which may the only appropriate way to experience it. After the onslaught of Natural Born Killers, Bluebeard plays as some garbled fever dream from the Victorian era about a psycho killer terrorizing Paris known as Bluebeard. John Carradine's (who also played Dracula) plays a dashing puppeteer and painter wooing Parisian women and then murdering them. Inspector Lefevre suspects Barrymore is the killer and sends in a beautiful undercover agent to reveal him. Directed by the legendary Edgar G. Ulmar, best known for his low budget masterpieces of expressionism., Bluebeard marked a surreal detour for the evening. 

Trailers: Rosemary's Baby (1968); Race with the Devil (1975); Wolfen (1981)

11pm - The Believers (1987, John Schlesinger) Now a change of pace: supernatural evil intruding upon the modern world. As a thriller The Believers is consistently effective, thrilling and often creepy on a subterranean level. The first five minutes are about as shocking as it gets, capturing how the routine of everyday life can quickly devolve into tragedy. Martin Sheen stars as a recently widowed psychologist who moves to New York City with his young son. Working with the Police Department, Sheen is helping them investigate a rash of child murders that appear to be ritual sacrifice tied to the Santeria community. Further investigation reveals an even deeper conspiracy involving Manhattan's elite crowd. These plot points do bring up some of the strengths and weaknesses of the film. On the first point, the plot could serve as a conspiracy theory fuel for audiences susceptible to stories involving elites and the occult (the 1980s was the decade of Satanic Panic, a dry run for today's even grander scale mass delusions). The second point is the xenophobia, any religion outside of mainline Christianity in American movies rarely gets handled with any finesse. While The Believers clumsily tries to address the issue, one character points out being a non-traditional Christian is an easy way for white Americans to marginalize a community, that particular theme is paid mere lip service (Wolfen handles it in a more interesting way). Stoking up fear over Caribbean religions has long been a cottage industry in Hollywood from the very beginning, White Zombie from 1932 being an early example. Even Sheen, a liberally minded protagonist, is revealed to have xenophobic attitudes. Christianity is not used to symbolize Western morality here, but modernity itself - another trope in supernatural thrillers. What makes The Believers effective is its sense of the uncanny, Schlesinger's focus on mundane details of everyday life create an ominous subtext carried through to the final shot. 

Trailers: Abby (1974); Needful Things (1993); Kuroneko (1968)

1am - The Wailing (2016, Na Hong-jin)

Next came The Wailing, a 150 minute horror epic from South Korea. A mysterious visitor arrives at a village and a terrifying infection begins to spread among the residents. Kwak Do-won stars as a cop investigating a string of gruesome murders possibly linked to the malady ravaging the village. A shaman is brought into town to chase the away the evil spirits, leading to one hell of an exorcism sequence. Then you realize there's still an hour to go! Tropes from so many other genres are employed from ranging from animal to zombie attacks to body horror, but The Wailing is also character driven, including wry humor and heartbreaking drama. The first hour is mostly set up and the horror slowly creeps in until the very end when you are literally inside a nightmare. Like The Believers, dueling world views are in conflict. The Catholic Church plays a peripheral (and ineffectual) role in the story. Family ties and the links people will go to protect their loved ones is another major theme. But like any masterwork of supernatural horror, it's the inexplicable aspect of the story that truly haunts the imagination. Sometimes awful things happen with no explanation, mocking our human need for reason behind senseless tragedies. The acting and cinematography are amazing.

Trailers: The Hunger (1983); The Horror of Dracula (1958)

3:30am - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992, Francis Ford Coppola)

Another often told tale about an ancient evil intruding upon the world of science and reason. The many incarnations of Dracula up to this point had taken elements from the 1897 Bram Stoker novel, Coppola's adaptation follows the novel fairly close in structure and theme. My own memories of reading the novel are the creepy early chapters in Transylvania, but the second half became a slog (lots of blood transfusions). The film also follows that arc. The saving grace is the stunning production design by Coppola's team, pretty much every shot could be a still painting. The focus is on the sensual side of the story, staying within the Gothic tradition. Winona Ryder is strong as the lead Mina Harker who must defeat Dracula. Gary Oldman is no Bela Lugosi and his makeup is ridiculous, somewhere between Emperor Palpatine and Mr. Burns. Anthony Hopkins plays a shifty Dr. Van Helsing and a young Keanu Reeves plays the meek Jonathan Harker. A tad overlong, but a triumph of cinematic vision and production design.

Trailers: Ghost (1990); Dark Man (1990)

5:30am - The Crow (1994, Alex Proyas)

Closing out the night with The Crow felt right. A classic and influential film combining a comic book sensibility with Gothic themes, gritty action, and grunge music. The story is straight forward, a man returns from the dead to avenge those who murdered him and his girlfriend. Brandon Lee tragically died on set after being shot by what was supposed to be a fake bullet adds a layer of tragedy to the film. Lee shows potential here, if he had lived The Crow could've launched an amazing career. The set pieces are imaginative, mostly shot at night evoking a noir atmosphere. A superb supporting class including Ernie Hudson and Michael Wincott. A perfect movie for Halloween with its mix of darkness and light, an urban futuristic backdrop synthesizing Blade Runner with Escape From New York. 

Happy Halloween!