Halloween 2019: October 21st

There's a number of Halloween traditions I like to observe throughout October. One of the sillier ones is visiting my local Spirit of Halloween store as many times as possible. This year, the store has an especially fun set-up, with a walk-through "haunted aquarium," along with the expected amount of large scale animatronic decorations. It's amazing JD and I have never gotten kicked out of one of these places, considering we inevitably goof around with the costumes and accessories. If there's any time of year when it's okay to be a big kid, it's October. Anyway, on with the reviews.

Perfect Blue (1997)
Pâfekuto burû

It's only recently that anime has started to make in-roads with the mainstream critical establishment. For years, Japanese animation was dismissed as either goofy kids stuff like “Pokemon” or hardcore hentai pornography. Even now, that people are finally willing to embrace anime as its own art form, most people's knowledge of the format doesn't extend too far beyond Studio Ghibli. Or Satoshi Kon. The late, great animator had his films, beginning with breakthrough “Perfect Blue,” distributed in America as art house pictures. This brought his work the kind of critical attention it probably wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Recently, “Perfect Blue” was given a 4K restoration and theatrical release, bringing it to a new generation of film fans.

Mima Kirigoe is a pop singer in the idol group CHAM! Though CHAM! has never had much success on the charts, they have attracted a die hard fan following. Mima is frustrated by the restrictions of the idol life and dreams of something more. Against the wishes of her manager, a former idol herself named Rumi, she begins to pursue acting. She gets a role in a violent crime thriller, eventually starring in a graphic rape scene that greatly disturbs her. Mima begins to receive threatening letters and mail. A stalker, upset that Mima has so suddenly discarded her squeaky clean idol image, begins to track her every move. Amid Mima's increasing disconnect from reality, people begin to end up dead.

For many people in the West, “Perfect Blue” was our introduction to the weird, frequently creepy world of J-pop idol fandom. In the English language world, female pop stars are usually designed to appeal to tween-age girls and, at most, boys of the same age. In Japan, “idols” largely cater to an obsessive fanbase of nerdy, older men. Idols have to maintain an image that is teasingly sexual but also virginal, least they disturb their fans' ability to imagine them as their own personal pop princesses. Careers have been destroyed because idols have been discovered with boyfriends or even rumored to have boyfriends. This is the setting “Perfect Blue” inhabits. We see hardcore idol fans trading catty gossip, increasingly discarding Mima as unworthy following her new career choices. Fans of rival groups pick fights at concerts. The stalker's romantic obsession with Mima – he's introduced imaging holding her in his hand – is urged towards violence by her decision to cast off her "pure" image. It is a deeply fucked-up world and one worth analyzing.

“Perfect Blue” is intimately concerned with the troubles involved in having to be both a normal person and a pop idol. Mima singing bubblegum music on-stage in her frilly outfits is intercut with the woman grocery shopping, feeding her fish, and living in her tiny Tokyo apartment. As she discovers a fan website with intimate details about her life, her sense of personal privacy, of safety, is violated. A key line in the film is “Who are you?,” Mima's sole line of dialogue on her first day on the set. She repeats it over and over again, obviously emphasizing that the question is directed at herself too. After so many years of performing as an idol, Mima has lost herself but her attempts to break out are equally traumatic. “Perfect Blue” frequently cuts between Mima's real life and the show she's filming without warning, fiction and reality seeping into each other. So the audience is as uncertain of what's happening as Mima is. The film perfectly puts you in the mind of someone who has lost themselves.

If that wasn't distressing enough, “Perfect Blue's” images grow increasingly disturbing as it goes on. Though the rape scene is fictional within the context of the film, it is still a deeply uncomfortable watch. Kon focuses on Mima's discomfort while the film-within-the-film seems to eroticize the assault. The sexual violence proceeds gory violence. An eyeless, bleeding corpse appears in an elevator as if killed by a supernatural force. A later ice pick stabbing is surprisingly, effectively gory, blood spurting out in copious amounts after an eye is gouged. Despite being animated, you feel the visceral invasion of the body, the agony of the stabbed victim.

Considering it's relatively down-to-earth story, it's probably not surprising to read that “Perfect Blue” was originally intended to be a live-action film. (And its source novel has since been filmed in live action.) Yet Satoshi Kon certainly takes advantage of this story being animated. Mima's daydreams get increasingly surreal. She's often haunted by images of her pop princess persona, who taunts her from television screens and mirrors. Soon, Mima sees her mirror image bounding through the air, gracefully bouncing atop street lights. In the last act, after the killer's identity is revealed, Mima continues to imagine her attacker like this. The contrasting sight – the smiling, floating J-idol Mima with the violence she inflicts on her real world counterpart – is certainly a creepy, surprising sight. (Kon's future films would embrace this surreal tendency even more.)

“Perfect Blue” received an enthusiastic response here in the West, quickly earning Satoshi Kon the title of “the Alfred Hitchcock of anime.” Which was slightly misleading, as Kon never quite returned to the thriller/horror genre again. (At least, not in feature films. His television series, “Paranoia Agent,” definitely counts as part of the genre.) Though undeniably of its era – the internet is still a new invention, the film set long before the rise of social media changed celebrity culture forever – many of “Perfect Blue's” ideas about obsession and feminine identity are still highly relevant. Ultimately, the film is just as exciting, effective, and creepy as it was twenty years ago. [9/10]

Darlin' (2019)

Last year, there was quite an unexpected announcement. Out of the blue, we suddenly learned that a sequel to “The Woman” was entering production, seven years after the original. Not only would Pollyanna McIntosh return to the role of the cannibalistic wild woman, she would also write and direct the film. (This is actually the second time the leading lady of one of Lucky McKee's film would make a companion piece to the movie they made together. Angela Bettis previously directed “Roman,” something of an inverse of “May.) I wasn't sure what to expect from the new film, as McKee was only acting as a hands-off producer and Jack Ketchum, sadly, passed away last year. The film was released back in July and I knew I had to review it this Halloween.

“The Woman” ended with the titular cannibal taking the Cleek daughters – five year old Darlin', pregnant teenager Peggy and the third, nameless sister – into the woods with her. Nearly a decade has passed. Darlin' is the only surviving Cleek now and is as feral and filthy as the Woman. On a winter night, the teenage girl is discovered. She is soon taken from a hospital to a Catholic school for wayward girls. Though reluctant at first, the wild child slowly learns how to act like a polite, civilized person again. As she re-learns to speak, she reveals her horrifying past to the nuns and bishops of the school. However, the Woman is searching for Darlin' and is quickly closing in.

McIntosh's film is primarily about two things. It's a very odd coming-of-age story. Darlin' isn't growing from childhood into young adulthood. Instead, she's rediscovering the humanity she lost after living most of her life as a forest-dwelling cannibal. Watching Darlin' making friends, rediscovering pleasures like music or cookies, is interesting considering what the girl has been through. Her progression from wild child back to something like normalcy is compelling. However, McIntosh's film is especially preoccupied with the Catholic Church's treatment of women. All of the girls, including Darlin', are treated cruelly by the nuns. The religious institute is completely disinterested in understanding or helping the girls cope with their personal traumas. Inevitably and unsurprisingly, it's revealed that the Bishop is sexually molesting the younger girls. This is certainly a point worth making but “Darlin'” is less interesting when it's focusing on critiquing the sexist traditions of the Catholic Church.

For short stretches of time, the film turns to focus on the Woman's pursuit of Darlin'. In some ways, the Woman is the character we are most invested in here. Darlin' might as well be a totally different person and Peggy is dead, Lauren Ashley Carter returning for a five second cameo in a flashback. (Perhaps this was to avoid association with “Darling,” an unrelated horror movie Carter starred in.) Yet the Woman's subplot often feels like a digression from the main story. There's a certain absurd humor to some of these scenes – such as the Woman's hilarious reaction to riding in a car for the first time or her direct response upon meeting a clown – that jives badly with the film's otherwise serious tone. After a while, the Woman ends up living with a community of homeless women. This is a truly unnecessary addition to the story that goes nowhere and adds nothing to the plot, being discarded before the end. While the Woman is still a remorseless killer, it does feel like McIntosh has softened the character some. She seems to exclusively target men now and the cannibalism aspect is downplayed.

How does McIntosh do as a director? She shows a certain visual flair. “Darlin'” is well-shot and the snowy flashback sequences are especially moody. However, “Darlin'” still has its flaws. The pacing is painfully slow, the film sluggishly progressing through its 100 minute run time before a sudden and non-conclusive ending. Aside from the title character and the sympathetic nun helping her, the rest of the characters are underdeveloped. Most of the other teen girls are reduced to bizarre gimmicks, like the twin girls who talk in unison. McIntosh runs with the feminist themes of “The Woman” in a sometimes heavy-handed manner. This is clearly a movie about how men seek to control women and their bodies. That point is hammered home repeatedly. The film even ends with an embarrassingly bad rap song summing up the story's themes.

“Darlin'” ends with a dedication to Jack Ketchum, which is a nice gesture. I have no idea if the script was completed before or after Jack passed away, but it's pretty clear the sequel was written without his impute. One also feels a lack of involvement from Lucky McKee, whose style is not evident in the film at all. This was one hundred percent Pollyanna McIntosh's project. And one can't help but feel “Darlin'” would be better if it followed “The Woman's” footsteps some more. The sequel feels slightly half-baked, lacking the brutal suspense of its predecessor. But it is still better than “Offspring.” [6/10] 

Thriller: Pigeons from Hell

Series like “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and “The Twilight Zone” were so popular that a number of similar programs followed. The premise of tales of suspense being presented by a famous, witty actor or personality was too versatile. Among these various anthology shows was “Thriller,” which slotted Boris Karloff into the host position. (This was actually the second time Karloff hosted such a program, after the unseen-for-years “The Veil.”) “Thriller” only ran for two seasons and never penetrated that deeply into the pop culture consciousness. However, the show has a faithful cult following. Easily, its most highly regarded episode is “Pigeons from Hell,” from the Robert E. Howard story of the same name.

“Pigeons from Hell” begins with two brothers, Johnny and Timothy, traveling through an obscure corner of the American countryside. Their car gets stuck on a muddy, empty road. Looking for help, the brothers come upon an abandoned, dilapidated mansion. Outside, a flock of pigeons congregate which is creepy in a way that's hard to define. The brothers decide to spend the night in the mansion, despite the unnerving atmosphere inside. In the middle of the night, Timothy is awoken by Johnny screaming. He discovers Timothy, bloody and wielding a hatchet, before fleeing. Found by the police, Johnny has to convince the sheriff he's not a killer. The two return to the mansion and uncover a local legend.

Despite its humble TV roots, “Pigeons from Hell” produces some spooky black-and-white atmosphere. The story seems like a cliché now, with its tale of stranded motorists taking shelter in a spooky old building. However, the presentation is effective. The old plantation house is rift with deep shadows. The shots of the boys peering up the spiral staircase or looking at a spooky portrait are effective. The shots of Timothy, head bleeding and attacking with an axe, are surprisingly startling. While demonic pigeons sound ridiculous on their face, the episode manages to make the cacophony of their constant cooing spooky. “Pigeons from Hell” is overly reliant on characters reading from books and telling old ghost stories, to explain the back story. Yet it builds to a few decent shocks and a surprisingly creepy conclusion, featuring a beckoning song and a corpse-like figure. And, unsurprisingly, Boris Karloff is more than capable of delivering a spooky introduction with a wry smile. [7/10]

Critters: A New Binge: Detention

“A New Binge” starts to bring some of its plot points together in its fifth episode. Chris, Charlie, Dana, and her boyfriend have all ended up in detention together, at the mercy of their asshole principal. Bounty hunter/Chris' mom's boyfriend Holt arrives at the school at the exact same time as the Crites, leading to a showdown in a class room. Both types of aliens seem to have less-than-kind intentions for the teen boy, who ends up captured by the fang-y furballs at the end of this segment.

This is another fun episode. Thomas Lennon gets some amusing dialogue as the sadistic but clueless Mr. Weber. Once Holt assumes his identity, he even gets some action sequences to himself. The big fight with the Crites involves a number of amusing sight gags, such as the Critters flinging themselves through the window with a catapult, a golf club being used against the monsters, and a thoroughly random shout-out to “The Matrix.” (Which is far more amusing than a shout-out to “Terminator 2.”) There's lot of green monster blood splattered in this segment. The actual story line is becoming increasingly unimportant, in favor of wacky dialogue and goofy creature comedy. Which is about normal for the “Critters” franchise, I would say. [7/10]