I Am A Ghost

Finally a horror movie I am really excited for! I Am A Ghost has a pseudo-70's feeling that I am totally looking forward for. In a time when mainstream horror is full of remakes and uninspiring concepts, I have often turned to the indie and foreign market for my horror fix (where I discovered such great films as Martyrs and Dead Girl).

It has the feel of Rosemary's Baby, The Shining, and even such art-house films like Fellini's Juliet of the Spirits. Even the design of the trailer has a vintage quality. I am a huge fan of 1970's horror cinema and of psychological/atmospheric horror. The trailer compares it to a combination of Kubrick, Bergman, and Hitchcock, all who have done amazing work being some of the most respected directors in film history. 

The concept is simple: a woman is alone in a house and talking to a disembodied voice who says she is a medium trying to help her move on because she is a ghost. the film proclaims to be an experiment in memory. What does a person remember about their death after they have died? I am curious to find out. The film seems scary, experimental, and beautiful. This is the horror film I have been waiting for!

It was officially released in October 2013 but I just heard of it recently. Check out the trailer below!

 

System of a Down - Live at Whiskey A-Go-Go '97

System of a Down are easily one of my favorite bands out there. Their abrasive political views, their anger infused shouts for social equality, their bizarre lyricism, and just the awesome weirdness of the band members' personalities all combine to create one awesome package. Since the band took a hiatus they haven't created original music as SOAD, but Serj Tankian has had a solid solo career (not as solid as with System, although he is probably one of my favorite people alive), and Daron Malakian released the critically lackluster Scars on Broadway (which I found to be a lot of fun with some solid tracks). 

I will forever and always love the first self-titled album from System of a Down and once upon a time I stumbled on this early show they did at Whiskey A-Go-Go in 1997. The recording isn't great, the edit cutting needlessly between band and audience at a rapid pace, but the low-budget videotape of the 90's captures a unique quality to the image that harnesses the raw power of System's early material. Here are a few of my favorite performances:

Soil

This may be one of my all-time favorite songs from SOAD. The guitar-solo from Daron is fantastic, especially when it is coupled with Serj's wacky dance moves (he dances quite a lot like me actually). The raw power in Serj's early vocals is very unique compared to his later material, where he obviously screams and growls a lot less. What I like most about System is that they have a point they are trying to make, even if it is hidden beneath layers of symbolic absurdism and a wall of nu-metal sound.

Suit-Pee

I've seen a lot of Youtube comments discussing who the weird guy doing the deep nasally growls is during the breakdown, and a lot of people believe it is Sako - the guy named in Sugar that Serj bought a gun that fits in his pocket. I don't know, but I actually kind of like that part of this performance - the deep growls remind me of Halloween with the evil laughter and I think of the tree from Poltergeist. It isn't best example of quality death metal, but the coupling between the creepy bellows and Serj's incessant vulgarities is the heaven to the hell of the slow down-tuned instruments. Also, just before they explode into a deliciously heavy breakdown, Daron screams out "come on motherfucker!" and that cry of sheer empowerment just gets me pumped!

Mind

Repetition and pattern is a key to great art that has a message and this is demonstrated well here, especially in the lyrics. Serj repeating the line "look at each other" is something that I think society needs to hear, which is even more relevant today where almost all of us are absorbed into our phones and social media. Maybe we should all actually look at each other now and then. Serj's frustration with the state of people's minds is evident in his performance and it brings out the best within him, and some of his best death growls to date. He is angry at the world and he means what he says. Daron and Shavo, on bass, blast away through the metal riffage, adding a level of frantic energy that only seems to dissipate through Serj's (unique?) dancing.

Sugar

The classic song from SOAD that all my high school friends knew the iconic "sugarrrrrrr" from Daron Malakian. At 1:57 the lead guitarist unleashes a crazy banshee shriek and crazy eyes that just gives me goosebumps. It makes me think - what the fuck? - but it also makes me grin like an idiot. I love these guys! Shavo's bass line leads the group through the song coupled with Daron's medolies carrying the harshness of Serj's mantras. The end of the song ends with a repetition of "in the end it all goes away" with a hardcore nu-metal thrash-out. In the end it all goes away - this simple lyric has so many meanings, but none more than the fact that the System of 1997 are past this moment and living out another.

5 Movies That Scared Me When I Was Kid

Horror films were a big deal for me as a kid. I loved getting scared, having nightmares, hearing spooky tales. It was a great thrill. These films are all ones that profoundly scared me when I was a young boy, for one reason or another. They may not be great films, or even all that scary to me now, but I remember them vividly having an impact on me.

1 Jeepers Creepers

What scared me the most in Jeepers Creepers was the monster itself, the "Creeper". He drove a scary truck, wore a costume that hid any defining feature, and when you got underneath that he had leathery skin, cunning eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth. He carried an array of grisly weapons to murder his victims, and even worse he would eat them. After eating his victims' bodies, he would regain a part of their flesh into his own and grow more powerful. It was eyes most of all that terrified me - those knowing, seeing eyes. As a young boy, it felt like he could see me.

2 Jaws

In Jaws, I felt a terror that was like being in the movie. The scene where a young boy is on a yellow flotation device and gets attacked, and all the beach patrons flee from the water, left me feeling sick. Then, even worse, the mother screaming his name looked almost exactly like my own mother, and she was crying, "Alex! Alex!," which is my little brother's name. It was horrific. This may have been my first view of of real gore as well, when the boys get attacked and you clearly see a human leg float down to the sea floor, trailing a path of bright blood.


3 Event Horizon

I don't remember much from my first time seeing Event Horizon, because I never got to see it all. As the terror built and I grew more scared, the film became almost to much for my childhood imagination. At one point my mom covered my eyes and I heard a family member say, "Oh my God, he's cutting his eyes out." My adolescent imagination was off to the races after that, and, horribly, my mom sent me to bed without knowing what happened next. Years later, when I watched the film in full, it was still a horrific sci-fi flick (and still really good, probably Paul W.S. Anderson's best work) but it did not have the same impact on me as it did back then.

4 Demon Knight

Another film about scary demons that terrified me as a boy. This time, Billy Zane is unleashing a pack of bloodthirsty demons on a group of innocent travelers. The demons are the main thing that terrified me. They shambled along the dark hallways, with glowing eyes, and dark oily skin, looking to eat people. Only the Blood of Christ could prevent them from entering doorways. The demon within Zane's character also tricked his victims into succumbing to death, by lying to them with false promises. This was a terrifying idea, and I had nightmares for a long long time. 

5 The 13th Warrior

This isn't really a horror film per se, but like Event Horizon, I never finished the entire movie until I was older, realizing it wasn't as scary as I once thought. Early on in the movie a group of Vikings find a family grotesquely murdered in a cabin in the woods. Their bodies were brutally torn apart. This was horrifying to my young eyes. Soon after, on a foggy night, the Wendol attack the group, and I distinctly remember one of the animal-carcass-wearing enemies grabbing the head of a Viking and twisting it off like a cork. The decapitated head is shown in gruesome closeup being carried around like a trophy.

Honorable Mentions:
Scream
The Ring
Surviving the Game
Poltergiest

Divergent

I went to see Divergent on the weekend. I read the original novel by Veronica Roth the week before, so I was familiar with the story and the dystopian world she created. I was very interested in seeing how the film captured Roth's vision of a degenerated Chicago split into five factions. Overall, I was quite pleased with the cinematic adaptation and it fleshed out the themes of the book very nicely.

The world of Divergent is split into five factions, each prioritizing different values: Abnegation - Selflessness, Amity - Kindness, Candor - Honesty, Erudite - Intellect, and Dauntless - Bravery. Each faction enforces these virtues upon its members, to the point of everyone wearing the same style of clothing, and segregating into separate areas of the city resulting in factions not interacting with each other, or at least in very limited and confrontational encounters. Obviously, in a future where peace is supposedly upheld, the society is actually under strain by the conformity it demands. This is where our lead character Tris comes in, whose aptitude test determines her to be Divergent - one who does not fit into any one faction. Her mind seems to encompass all the virtues (particularly bravery, selflessness, and intellect).

The idea of breaking out of conformity is a common theme throughout the film. It stretches through the corrupt society down to the main characters themselves, embracing the idea of being true to themselves. The Dauntless instructor, Four, has a strong sense of who he wants to be when he reveals to Tris that he has the tattoos of all the factions, quoting "I want to be brave, and selfless, intelligent, honest, and kind." He recognizes that these are all valuable ideals to strive for and he doesn't need a government to tell him what ones to embrace. A lot of the ides presented here feel similar to Thoreau's ideas in his essay Civil Disobedience. If everyone did what the factions told them to, there wouldn't be peace. The idea is to think for yourself. Don't blindly follow.

The film follows the story of the novel quite well, although the pacing is wildly off. The novel slowly unfolds, allowing the characters to reveal some bits of information about themselves which is lost in the fast pace of the film (something that is usually a main difference between cinema and literature anyways). The world of the Divergent is created beautifully, presenting a vibrant world within a desolate Chicago that still thrives. The five factions are easy to tell apart based on their diverse styles amidst the ruinous city. For those who are worried that this is just another teen fantasy film, I must stress again the themes of corruptible society and civil disobedience. It is empowering for young people, and the characters Tris and Four are strong people who overcome a lot of hardships. Their positions in Dauntless force them to face their fears through a simulation program, presenting another major theme - facing your fears. The scenes of Tris fighting off flocks of crows, or being locked in a glass water tank are dream-like and eerie. Perhaps the most creative sequence in the whole film is Tris's aptitude test. She is transcended into a dream-state via a simulation serum, where she is surrounded by mirrors and talks to her own reflection. The sequence is high-tech in its visual execution and was, for me, the most unique sci-fi aspect of the movie.

Rejected

I remember seeing this delightful little short film when I was in high school and thought it was absolutely bonkers! Such absurd sequences with a fruit declaring "I am a banana!" and a little cloud puff freaking out because his anus is bleeding had my teenage version of myself laughing hysterically at something my parents and teachers would undoubtedly find appalling.

It wasn't until later in my life that I discovered the film had been nominated for an Oscar (Best Animated Short - 2000). I was shocked....and delighted! It reignited my hopes for the Oscars (which have since dropped again to the point I no longer watch them at all), but even more importantly it opened me up to discovering more of Don Hertzfeldt's fine work. In fact, he may be my favorite animation film-maker (Hayao Miyazaki comes close). But let's talk about Rejected.

Watch Rejected here first!

Hertzfeldt's masterful short is clearly a satire on the nature of advertising. The narration describes the work of an animator (Don) who is hired to create commercial work for a number of companies. The eccentric work features absurd characters in surreal scenarios that are all too bizarre for any corporate portrayal and thus get rejected by all the employing firms. By the end of the film, the rejected cartoon world begins to implode due to the mental degradation of the animator's psyche, resulting in the amazing finale. This is where Hertzfeldt's style shines, using the paper itself as a layer to the world - characters go flying out of holes and rips in the paper, ripples in the sheet are like tidal waves, and one character knocks on the medium making cracks as if he is trying to escape. This is surreal comedy at perhaps its best. Given the excellent animation work, the thematic undertones of advertising absurdity, and the memorable and often disturbing jokes ("My spoon is too big!"), I can see why Rejected is award-worthy. Don't you?

Polysics!

Whoa! I just discovered this crazy band from Japan called Polysics! They look like an Asian Devo but with more electro-pop fused into their sound. 

The front man explodes onto the scene with a ridiculous key-tar solo complete with a manic head twitching that looks like he is insane (maybe he is?). This song AT-AT really has a fun electro beat that carries thorough the song with a grooving bass line. The front-man cuts the song into segments with a few odd verses where he sings like a boy who had way too much sugar. I don't have much to say about these guys yet, but I think I may check out more of their stuff. I just needed to share this crazy video for now and let other people bask in their energetic antics. This is fun music!

Chasing Mavericks

This past weekend I watched the biopic Chasing Mavericks which tells the story of surfing legend Jay Moriarty. The film was co-directed between Curtis Hanson (who made the great L.A. Confidential) and Michael Apted (who directed the historical film Amazing Grace). The film follows the "rites of passage" story archetype, where a wet-behind-the-ears character (a young Jay) wants to surf the biggest waves, or mavericks, in Santa Cruz but must be trained by his wise mentor (played the rugged Gerard Butler). I really quite enjoy stories of this type, obviously because they are traditionally motivating and inspiring, but also because I find mentor characters in films to be interesting and entertaining.

One of the main themes throughout Chasing Mavericks is fear and overcoming it. Frosty, the wise mentoring surfer dude, tells Jay about the Four Pillars of Strength: Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual. The film tackles each of these very wisely, except for the last one - there is one scene where Frosty denies his belief in God and this is really the only point the film touches anywhere on spirituality. Without the film-makers becoming too preachy, the film still manages to inspire the viewer through the other three pillars, mostly through the lectures of Frosty and the trials of Jay. The physical trials are obvious, where surfing is shown to be a difficult sport, fighting against the power of the tides and the intense training the characters have to go through. The emotional trials are shown through the relationships between characters, especially with Jay's mother and the childhood friend he struggles to build a romantic connection with. In an unexpected turn, Frosty demands that Jay write him a series of essays on observation and the impact of fear, showing that these surfer dudes are more than just stereotypical beach bums and they can actually think intellectually. The film goes to show that athleticism can be more than just being good at something physical and that there is a mind aspect to this lifestyle as well.

The film's structure builds well, creating a cycle of trial and success through the many conflicts Jay has not only with his mentor, but with friendships, family, love, and the sea itself. The cinematography captures some beautiful images of the sea, both at it's calmest and it's roughest, allowing some interesting choices for the edit of the sequences. The crash of the waves and the calmness of the sea become a metaphor for the path through life: sometimes it is smooth sailing and you can clearly see your goal, but other times you have to fight just to stay on top and the chaos keeps you from keeping your bearings. The editing choices I briefly mentioned also utilize this contrast in the mood of the surf: after the sudden death of a character, the film cuts to a calm sea, brilliantly lit with the white light of the sun - seeming to comment that there is silence now and that a death has occurred without needing to come right out and telling the audience. Another brilliant moment of editing choice is when Jay finally connects with his romantic pursuit and after the girl tells him she loves him they lean forward and kiss in a tight two shot - which deliberately cuts to a crashing wave, the embodiment of Jay's passion. 

The film ends on a low note, however, jumping seven years into Jay's successful surfing career when he drowned in 2001.  This final scene seemed like an out of place footnote to me, being a stark jump from the victory of his maverick conquest. It was difficult to feel a connection to his death as it felt so unemotionally tagged in at the end, and it kind of breaks the pacing of the whole work. The film adds on an inspiring interview clip with the real Jay Moriarty, redeeming itself to expel his life motto: 

"It's about finding that one thing in life that sets you free, but you need to believe in yourself or none of this matters."

Wilz - Get Looney & Ghost

I've posted some stuff on music here, both music videos and live performances. As you may have noticed, I like a lot of weird music so sometimes I stray into the foreign markets (I particularly enjoy visual kei bands from Japan). I decided to share some local music this time. It's nice to see some quality hip-hop coming out of our own province.

Wilz is a hip-hop artist from Saint John, New Brunswick (my hometown) and I actually went to high school with the guy. Below I have selected two excellent music videos produced locally and directed by my talented friend Steve Doiron. I have worked on a number of film projects with Steve and he is an awesome film-maker.

Ghost

First up is Ghost. I love this track. One thing I hear from people about Wilz is that he is very similar to Eminem. I definitely agree with this, but I think a lot of people end up saying this because he is a white rapper and Slim Shady is just one of the most famous. Sure he's white, but Wilz doesn't really compare to other famous white rappers (I wouldn't dare compare his sound to Vanilla Ice for example). The video is shot in downtown Saint John, featuring a drab setting that totally fits the mood of the song. Steve, the director, gets a cameo at the end getting out of his car (haha!). Wilz has a lot of charisma in the video, lyrics reflecting some deeply personal anguish, and the sung chorus has a raw power to it without over-exerting itself (the over-toned whispers adding a question of doubt to the character).

Get Looney

Get Looney is definitely a much more upbeat song. The video is very cool, particularly from a production stand-point, representing a post-apocalyptic world where people trade batteries for currency. For having a modest budget, as most productions in NB have, Steve Doiron sure knows how to make something from very little. There's a few local talents recognizable in the video such as Peter Doyle who made the Saint John-based film, Hometown. I'm in the video too towards the beginning (I get choked out in the fight). The beat is fun and Wilz spits his ryhmes with frantic pacing. Another bonus: the video shows off his break-dancing skills.