Back in April, a confluence of events that climaxed with a solar eclipse had a certain strata of Christian Fundamentalists believing the Rapture was about to begin. It didn't – obviously – but, by coincidence, you could see a movie in theaters about the End Times starting that same day. A prequel to "The Omen" had been floated for a while, seeming close to happening before the Fox/Disney buyout. The newly renamed 20th Century Pictures has shown a surprising commitment to Fox's long-running horror franchises though and "The First Omen" was not shelved. Surprising everyone, this legacy prequel to a nearly fifty year old franchise ended up being rather well received. I have a nostalgic connection to "The Omen" series so, obviously, I had to check it out during this year's Blog-A-Thon.
Margaret Daino arrives in Rome in 1971, a time of political and social upheaval, to complete her vows and become a nun. She is stationed at the church-run Vizzardeli Orphanage. There, she quickly bonds with Carlita, a troubled young girl. Margaret had disturbing visions as a child too and sees a lot of herself in Carlita. That is when Margaret is approached by a priest named Father Brennan. He claims that there is a Satanic conspiracy within the Catholic Church to breed the Antichrist and that Carlita is at the center of it. Margaret doesn't believe him at first but increasingly strange activity at the orphanage convinces her that this story is true. And that Margaret is a lot closer to it then she realizes...
Stevenson and her team doesn't simply create a good looking movie though. “The First Omen” takes its time to engineer an uncanny atmosphere, using the aesthetics of the Catholic Church – aged buildings, rituals hidden behind closed doors, an unquestionable structure of authority – to build dread early on. By the time the first major scare comes, of Margaret seeing a nun's habit leap to life, the film has more-than-earned the jump it gets out of the audience. “The First Omen” seems genuinely committed to putting freaky visuals on-screen. As Margaret witnesses a live birth, the focus remains on the mother's frantic face and quaking body. By the time the truly shocking pay-off to that sequence comes, the viewer is already deeply uncomfortable. Another sequence has Margaret experiencing a vision of an animal-like tongue being dragged across her face during a riot. Without a degree of distance or detachment, the film allows these freaky images to exist as visions right out of a nightmare. The mixture of graphic gore – a moment involving a sudden car crash is a notable example – and extended freakiness makes for a genuinely scary motion picture.
At the center of all of this is one hell of a lead performance. Nell Tiger Free has a very approachable looking face. This girl-next-door appearance makes her ideal for the role of a girl raised in the Church, an innocent being thrust into a dark world she can't conceive of. When that wide-eyed, innocent face twists into one of horrified terror, you really believe. Free commits fully to the material, giving a performance that is fearless in its lack of movie star glamour. This is most apparent in one of “The First Omen's” most impressive sequence, where Margaret goes into a full-body spasm. Though obviously inspired by Isabella Adjani's subway freak-out in “Possession,” Free's physical contortions are unsettling even without that reference point. All of this makes for a likable but deeply disturbed protagonist, who goes on a journey through hell that destroys her innocence but leaves her a more fully formed person.
La vergine di Norimberga
Italian cinema has gifted many great auteurs to the world. Even if you narrow it down to the genre stuff I like, cutting out legends like Fellini or Bertolucci, you still have some of the most respected names to work in the biz. Of course, this gives a perhaps narrow view of the Italian film industry during its heyday. From the fifties all the way into the eighties, most Italian studios devoted themselves to chasing whatever trend was popular at the time. Gladiator movies were big for a bit, spaghetti westerns after that, so on and so forth. Antonio Margheriti is a typical example of a director from this time. He participated in all the major subgenres: Peplum, cowboys, Eurospy, Macaroni Combat, gialli, poliziotteschi, cannibals, direct rip-offs of American blockbusters, a mondo movie too. When gothic horror was briefly popular in the early sixties, Margheriti made those too. These efforts tend to be better remembered than most of his work. “The Virgin of Nuremburg,” given the far more generic title of “Horror Castle” in the U.S., shows he had a real flair for the morbid stuff.
Mary's husband, Max, moves her to his ancestral home in Nuremberg, Germany. The isolated castle out in the woods comes with a morbid history of its own. A notorious hooded killer called the Punisher tortured women there in the middle ages. Now, the castle is a museum to these macabre methods of execution. Mary is immediately put off by the creepy home and by Erich, the scarred caretaker. Soon, she finds herself stalked by a man in a red hood. Max assures her that he'll be able to explain everything. However, the masked murderer begins to prey on the other women in the castle, trying out the different relics of torture on them. Mary has to fight to survive in the walls of ancient fortress.
“The Virgin of Nuremburg” was adapted from a salacious pulp crime novel, one of a popular series of such books. These are origins similar to the giallo, which the film vaguely resemble. In fact, you could call “Horror Castle” a proto-slasher of sorts. It has a masked killer stalking people in an isolated location, picking off his victims one by one. While the so-called Punisher is a lot chattier than most masked slashers, his red hood wouldn't be out of place in the eighties. Like later, more graphic horror films, the focus here is frequently on methods of execution. The iron maiden – from which the original title is derived – puts in an appearance. Alongside a rat cage that attaches to the face, some gnarly looking hooks, and a chamber that slowly fills with water. By modern standards, the movie is not especially gory. However, the emphasis on sadism definitely gives the film more of an edge than many of its contemporaries.
Rossana Podesta makes for a decent heroine for this kind of story, gorgeous but utterly naïve and innocent. Her and her husband never sleep in the same bed together, furthering the virginal feeling around her. Lee doesn't get too much to do, his performance being further disguised by the mediocre dub. Still, his presence is always imposing and welcomed. Riz Ortolani contributes a score that is equal parts jazzy and melodramatic, often blaring during any of the shocks or scares. Still, a memorable villain, some nasty toys of torment, and typically gorgeous cinematography and set dressing makes “Horror Castle” a decently entertaining slice of Eurohorror. [7/10]
“Meet the Belaskos” takes place in a world where vampires are known to exist and have peacefully integrated with living society. A family named the Belaskos move into a new neighborhood, which greatly annoys their teenage daughter Anna. She soon develops a romance with Alex, the human boy who lives next door. Unfortunately, Alex's dad is an anti-vampire bigot. When dad decides to commit a Van Helsing hate crime, the two teens plan to run away together. The undead hunting posse find them first, leading to a bloody confrontation.
“Meet the Belaskos” starts with a cool, Hammer style dream sequence, showing that John Esposito – the screenwriter of “Graveyard Shift” and “Right to Die” making his directorial debut – has the skills. However, this is another episode undone by an uncertain tone. The set-up of a wholesome vampire family next door is obviously flippant. As is the cartoonish bigotry Alex's dad shows towards them. However, the romance between the teens is played straight. In its final act, “Meet the Belaskos” gets gravely serious, leading towards a tragic ending. It's kind of hard to square off such a downbeat conclusion with the comedic first half. Still, “Meet the Belaskos' does feature some cool gore effects, a decent vampire transformation, and is a little sexier than your typical episode of “Creepshow.”
There's a number of internet creepypastas about cursed video games that “Cheat Code” was probably inspired by. “Weird Wednesday” looks like a cutesy platformer but features graphic gore. The kids keep playing the game, it's clear that something weird is going on. They ignore the supposed curse. The episode also weaves the Atari graveyard legend into its backstory. Like many of those internet tall tales, it's difficult to take this episode too seriously. Once Dave gets linked with the game, the scenes of him walking down the street in a vertical line and dodging deadly, every day objects are clearly silly. The over-the-top death scenes are not meant to inspire chills. However, the dramatic center of the episode – Dave's bond with his dad – is played straight in a very schmaltzy fashion. Lochlyn Munro's performance is corny. If not for the blood and guts and some four-letter words, “Cheat Code” would basically feel like an episode of “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” That's not the worst thing in the word but also not quite what I imagined from “Creepshow” taking on the cursed video game premise. If nothing else, at least “Weird Wednesday” seems like a real video game people might want to play, as opposed to most fictional games on TV shows. Perhaps it is more 16-bit than 8-bit, which also doesn't match up with the Atari style joysticks the game is played with... [Meet the Belaskos: 6.5/10 / Cheat Code: 6/10]
As Halloween arrives, the White House throws a lavish costume party. Lexy has convinced Grant to get invitations for her, Jake, and Devon. They immediately resume their hunt for Chucky. The doll – dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, the same costume Joseph wore during his last Halloween – continues to manipulate the president's young son. He uses the party to stage his most fiendish set of homicides yet. Meanwhile, in Texas, Tiffany Valentine is moved to a new prison. She is finally given her possessions, including some voodoo dolls, which she quickly uses to take revenge on another prisoner and to plot her escape.
The “Chucky” showrunners always try to make events of their Halloween episodes and “Dressed to Kill” might be their biggest. The White House Halloween party allows for lots of extras in colorful costumes, with a live band and elaborate scenery. This also allows for some cute horror homages. Clips from “Bride of Frankenstein” put in an excellent appearance. Lexy wears a an in-universe example of a Good Guys Doll costume, allowing this franchise to acknowledge the Sexy Chucky costumes you see every October. Chucky dressing up as the Phantom pays off fantastically in two aspects. Firstly, there's a hilarious and fittingly operatic final reveal. Secondly, the episode does its own spin on the famous chandelier drop. The results are lots more sickening gore, “Chucky” continuing to prove that basic cable can get away with just about anything, I guess, as far as violence goes these day. There's a moment here that audibly made me groan from its nastiness.
The Tiffany subplot does not seem as essential to the story as everything else happening. However, seeing Jennifer Tilly camp it up is always a blast. Nia Vardalos appears we this week's special celebrity victim, as a famous chief that quickly befriends and then turns on Tiff in prison. The voodoo assisted murder that follows is delightfully ridiculous and absurd, ending with another especially goopy bit of gore. The classic horror style is turned up in these scenes too, Tilly gleefully cackling as she performs her voodoo rituals with some crudely knotted dolls. Is this particular subplot going to contribute to the overall story any time soon? I guess we'll see. However, at this moment, season three of “Chucky” is still delivering the goods. [7/10]
No comments:
Post a Comment