Final project- Pencil drawn posters !!

So for my final project I was genuinely at a loss for time, and the idea of half-assing an essay just did not sit right with me. So I decided to compile a trio of graphite drawn movie posters of two of my favorite movies from the class, and of course Poor Things.

I may still continue to make more because honestly these were so so fun to make, which I did not expect. Each one of these carries a little easter egg of the movie, and the main theme of it.

Alright now lets get into them.

First on the docket is Shaun of the Dead, this is an absolute favorite of mine.

This poster is from a screencap at the beginning of the movie where Shaun and Ed are stupidly planning on going to the avoid the zombie apocalypse. I added his red bandana that he puts on after being injured at the Winchester as an ironic thing to show that this plan of “going to the Winchester” does not pan out. I also borrowed the reaching out undead hands from the actual movie poser, only I simplified mine a lot more. Shaun of the Dead is such a funny funny movie, it encompasses horror and comedy in such a clever way, like Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Plus I find Simon Pegg to be such a good dramatic actor, he absolutely carries this film.

Second, we have a Poor Things poster. This was a fun one to make, trying to translate the bizarreness of the film onto paper. I added a shadow of a man next to Bella to show the true antagonists of the movie, the men who foreshadow her life and are constantly trying to control her. Emma Stone is a really nice face to draw, she has got such a dynamic profile with her large eyes and jet black hair of Bella Baxter.

And the third poster is Mary Henry from Carnival of Souls. I chose to do a portrait of Mary in a state of confusion, from I believe one of her first episodes of phasing out of reality. I liked the dull fear that she exudes, it sums up the movie quite nicely. And I took a full figure screencap of her exploring the abandoned circus pavilion, the part where she is standing in the spiraling tunnel and light is only cast upon her, nowhere else. This effect also alludes to the fact she is a ghost, an apparatus hovering and a glow.

Designing posters takes a lot of precision and finesse so each one took me around two hours, and I utilized blending stumps and erasers to achieve soft shadows and intense highlights. Working digitally could have minimized this process but I genuinely love pencil drawings, I love being able to carve out a picture from a mess of grey undertones. If I had had more time (or managed my time better) I would have made many more of these.

But yea, that’s my final, enjoy : D

hey, you’re rick fuck-ing dalton. don’t you forget it.

Final blog. We have made it to the end. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a fitting finale film for the end of the semester. It encompasses the end of an era, the 60s and how this feeling of finality is affecting all those who live sweaty nostalgic Tarantino version of L.A.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was released in 2019 and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It his his magnum opus, as Professor S always says. This movie combines all the fantastic elements of a Tarantino, intriguing plot, likable, witty characters, lots of violence and it is, as all his films are, a delicious visual feast.

It follows the daily life of a declining Western actor Rick Dalton who is slowly but surely getting pushed out of Hollywood as his era ends and a new one is beckoning. we see this in chats he has with his younger co stars who are obviously grappling with this reality a lot sooner than Rick is. Rick’s best friend Cliff Booth has been his stunt double for the longest time, and he is also feeling the air of finality, but he seems to be more okay with it than Rick.

Cliff is a great foil to Rick. He is calm and collected when problems arise whilst Rick goes off the rails at the slightest inconvenience. He is a grounding presence for Rick though, and its much appreciated considering how long these two have been in the business together. Cliff himself is a fantastic character. Not only is he played by sexy Brad Pitt, but he is a bit of an enigma. We don’t truly know if this guy killed his wife, and with each interaction it seems like a harder truth if he is in fact guilty. And Tarantino keeps this open ended, the flashbacks are inconclusive so the audience must draw their own conclusion.

Also I think their friendship is just such a clear example of loving and caring for somebody despite their flaws and faults. Cliff Booth never falters as Rick’s friend, even when the guy is acting like a raving lunatic.

This film is a star among cult movies. It delivers in transgression. Using Sharon Tate’s death and the Manson cult within the narrative and keeping the viewer in suspense and anticipation of Tarantino’s infamous violence and blood shed. Then flipping the truth and allowing Sharon to live, its unmatched. It is SUCH good storytelling. and it focuses on drawing in a certain audience, a niche of people who relate to the nostalgic ambience of the film. It also is immensely quotable, especially in the many scenes in which Cliff and Rick convers to each other and also go off on their own and live their days separately. This film has pushed its way into mainstream media through memes and gifs and quotes, and its been that way since it was released in 2019. I don’t even think Django was hot for as long as this film has been.

And hey lets talk auteur theory a little bit. We did some heavy discussion on it prior to this class in History of the Motion Picture but I feel it deserves another glance. Auteur theory is quite elitist in my opinion, it revolves around this idea that the director is what brings the magic of the film, that they’re the author of the film which is incorrect. There is a whole team of people behind the scenes of great films like this, but i do have to say that certain directors do fall into the category of auteur and Quentin Tarantino is one of them. The guy is crazy about movies, he’s crazy for movies. His trademark long shots and intense close ups lend to the story that he fully fleshes out before even beginning filming. There is nearly no improvisation in this movie, in any of Tarantino’s movies. He sticks very very closely to his vision and it shows. We can instantly recognize a Tarantino through something as small as a brief gif or a single line quote. Of course I still have my qualms about auteur theory, especially the lack of female representation. But if anybody falls close to being an auteurist, it would QT.

Alright now we shall dive into the entirety of this semester. I am soo soo glad I took this class, I’ve never been in a room with people who are as intensely passionate about films as I am. I feel like the classes I took prior were good but this one was other worldly. The way it was structured was great. The weekly readings that we went through as a class really helped the material stick to my brain and allowed me to stew on more than just my own thoughts. Plus these discussions were really fun, and I immensely enjoyed learning what people preferred in regards to movies and shows.

The movies we watched this semester were so great too. I feel like I got introduced to such a plethora of genres and films that I may not have found without this class. Two of the best films that we were shown this semester are Carnival of Souls, and Shaun of The Dead.

Carnival of Souls for me was just such a delight to watch. I’m a huge fan of disturbed and bizarre films and this movie really checked all those boxes. The slow decline of Mary Henry is a sad watch but is so cleverly done with effects of her phasing in and out of reality and the loss of sound when she falls into purgatory. It’s such an intense watch, and I’m psyched to rewatch it.

In conclusion, I loved this class, so grateful I took it, and so grateful I met a bunch film nerds like me 🙂

brits don’t have guns, they use cricket bats

Shaun of the Dead 2004, directed by Edgar Wright follows the self obsessed, aimless Shaun through his daily life in a lackluster London as a zombie virus slowly consumes the population, unbeknownst to him and his roommate Ed before its nearly too late.

This film is refreshing in that it tells the story of a zombie apocalypse with the main element being humor rather than fear. Like the scene towards the beginning when Shaun and Ed stumble home drunk and serenade the zombie growling at them in the streets. Moments such as these, this utter obliviousness to the decaying undead make this film so sharp and witty, a joy to watch.

I appreciate how Wright auteurist style is so blatant, you can identify his movies so easily. And his shows, like Spaced. Spaced is a small British comedy that also stars Simon Pegg and its similar to Shaun of the Dead in that its a bunch of directionless Brits living in a flat together and entertaining themselves through drinking and laughable conversations. I was reading an interview with Wright and Pegg and it turns out Spaced inspired Shaun of the Dead. The two filmed an episode of Spaced revolving around zombies and thought the concept was so fun that they should make a whole movie about it! How naive they were to think it would be easy. But the payoff was great-ish. I mean now it is, SoTD is a certified cult classic. With a budget of 6 million and a parody title, the film only did make around 30 million is the box office. But it brought Edgar Wright into the spotlight and encouraged the creation of the Cornetto trilogy and beyond. Oh and how grateful we are for that trilogy.

Wright’s diegetic soundtracks that became even more influential in Baby Driver also show up in the Cornetto trilogy, such as the scene in the pub when they’re beating the zombie up to Queen from the jukebox. It’s a hysterically clever use of diegetic music.

I am a huge fan of Edgar Wright’s work, from Hot Fuzz to Baby Driver he as a director has a way of bringing these characters on screen to life through witty dialogue and intense action sequences. Shaun of the Dead was a passion project between Simon Pegg and Wright and a lot of the movie’s plot actually coincides with Pegg’s life pre-famous era. He and Nick Frost lived together for while, and also drank their troubles away at a shoddy pub. What makes SoTD so significant is how closely it ties into the real life moments in the actors’ lives. Simon Pegg states in an interview how his scene between Bill Nighy hits close to home because it parallels with the complicated relationship with his actual stepfather.

I find sarcastic horror comedies to be some of the most pleasurable viewings of a movie ever, it lends so much more reality than a serious horror movie does. And it equates with how humans react to things, if we cannot cry or scream, we might as well laugh. Because as scary as something can be, the preposterous-ness of the whole situation can be pretty damn humorous.

Shaun of the Dead is an 11/10 for me!!

I got a meeting with the bobs :)

Mike Judge the man that you are. Judge created King of The Hill and voiced the beloved character Hank Hill. Thanks to Mike Judge for also creating Office Space, which is one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen. Genuinely, I was laughing my ass off for more than half of the movie’s runtime.

Office Space made in 1999, directed by Mike Judge tells the story of Peter, an employee at Initech who hates his job, and his life. He’s bogged down by the mundanity of the office space and longs for the ability to take his life by the reins and live it how he wants to. He gets his wish from a hypnotherapist who hypnotizes him to become care free, and then promptly dies right after Peter falls under the hypnosis. It’s a pretty funny situation that is told in hilarious close ups of Peter’s soon to be ex Ann, and the doctor who is huffing and puffing as he speaks, and is obviously having some sort of cardiac arrest.

This movie blends elements of the real office life grind and satire together in a masterpiece of hilarity, including a hilarious scene of three guys beating a printer into pulp. It is based off of the Milton shorts which were animated shorts that Judge made and voiced about a mumbly, eccentric office employee who keeps getting harassed by Bill Lumbergh. Here’s one of the shorts.

This film kind of bombed in the box office, only making 12.2 million worldwide. And it had a budget of 10 million, it barely broke even. What funny about how this film as made was that it was kind of a mess, and Judge really disliked the way it was advertised. He ended up getting his people last minute to add Milton into the poster, otherwise it would’ve just been a guy covered in Post-it Notes.

It ended up gaining an immense cult following once it was released on video, and to this day it is the most discussed film of Judge’s when people come up and talk to him. I appreciate the lack of stardom in this film, apparently they wanted Matt Damon as Peter but Judge chose to have lesser known actors. And they come through fully. Both Ajay Naidu and David Herman embody their characters and their delivery of some lines, just sooo good. I’m praising this movie a lot, but it’s definitely deserved.

Ok, ok. Bill was my favorite character. Gary Cole is soooo funny. The way he keeps his composure and same monotone timbre through the entire film is just grating and annoying and sooo funny. There was apparently a scene cut from the film that had Bill reacting to getting his car towed, but it was taken out and I appreciate it because then we never see Lumbergh break from his mechanical, unvarying character.

I cannot get over how much laughter occurred over the duration of this movie. I cannot wait to get all my friends to watch it so we can quote it daily. I can see why its a cult movie, the jokes are addictive and so is the entire atmosphere of the film. Even though its mundane, the set itself has so much nuance and detail that you can’t help but enjoy it. Obviously real office spaces are not like this, but if they were maybe I’d work in one.

10/10!!!

Say man, you got a Joint?

“Nah, not on me man.”

“Would be a lot cooler if you did.” 😉

Dazed and Confused directed by Richard Linklater was released in 1993, which obviously isn’t the time period of the film. It takes place in Texas in ’76, glorifying this time of high waisted jeans, shag haircuts and a feeling of care freeness that just isn’t seen in a lot of high school movies anymore. Dazed and Confused is about a plethora of characters all making their way through the last day of school before summer, cruising and looking for good times to be had.

I was not born in the 70s and even I know that this take on that period of time is exaggerated. Between the freshmen hazing and moon tower party, this film kind of feels like a caricature of the 70s. Despite the cartoony atmosphere, the characters within the story are extremely well rounded. No person is the same, and they mesh so well together, especially at the moon tower bash where we watch them all mingle and drink and slowly inch closer and closer to the end of the night. There are some fabulous lines in the film too, like McConaughey’s infamous “alright, alright, alright” and “What are you looking at? Wipe that face off your head, bitch.” Darla saying that was actually so damn funny. This film has some good comedy and it’s really an experience to be had. Quite a fun one at that.

This trend of coming of age high school movies has changed drastically though. Movies like Fast Times or Dazed aren’t really around anymore because teenagers now lack a third space to hang out and feel free to be themselves. Malls, diners, fast food joints, all places that still technically exist but with the perpetuation of the online space and social media showing everyone and everything, there’s not technically a need for it. That and I think there’s a constant knowing that we can’t be carefree, there’s too many things to worry about to feel free like that. Lady Bird, Euphoria, Perks of Being a Wallflower, all examples of high school films/shows that give kids “adult” problems, issues of identity and social status and poverty. Modern teenagers don’t get to drive around eating burgers and smoking weed for fun because they’re grappling with reality or at least elements of it. The last movie that really allowed current events to take a backseat was Super Bad, a hilarious 2000s film about a bunch of kids also just looking for a good time. There are probably more examples, but its become quite rare.

I think this movie is good, its funny, its got a great cast of characters. But for me at least it is hard to relate to. It does not evoke a sense of nostalgia in me because I never truly had a high school experience. Sure I had some friends, but there was always a bit of a wall between me and people, maybe it was my fault or maybe it was theirs, I don’t really dwell on it because I have moved on. Being alone wasn’t the worst thing, but lack of companionship really kept me from truly experiencing high school as others did. I just saw high school, school in general as a roadblock I had to get over. Lol, I definitely wasn’t an easy going highschooler that is for sure. But yeah, Dazed makes me wish I did party more and hangout more, but it doesn’t evoke anything in me beyond that.

Anyways, I was doing some research and apparently these infamous needle drops we all know and love took almost a 6th of Linkstarter’s budget to obtain. I think my favorite songs from Dazed would have to be Paranoid by Black Sabbath (when the middle schoolers are getting chased by the seniors) and Rock and Roll All Night (when they’re all going to the moon tower partyy). Paranoid really got me because I love Black Sabbath and I think it fits really well with the tone of the movie.

Allright,allright,alrighttt this was a very fun watch. 9/10

Valerie and her week of wonders? more like valerie and her week of Hallucinations!!

Alrighty, lettuce do some dissecting of this week’s movie and readingg yayy.

This week we hit it off with the 1970 Czech film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders which was created within the ripples of the Czech new wave film movement. Directed by Jaromil Jires, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders tells the bizarre story of a 13 year old girl’s transformation from child into a woman, told through surreal, dreamlike sequences and a cast of shape shifting characters. It is hard to summarize exactly what the chronological line of story is because of how convoluted this movie is.

Czech New Wave came about from pressure for social and political form that came out of the Communist Party. These filmmakers such as Jires also had more access to state funding, and there was an overall desire for a new direction in art, including the abolition of censorship. Czech New Wave often exercises dark humor and we really see that in VaHWoW, specifically in the vampiric characters of Polecat and Elsa. The use of oversized teeth as their vampire fangs is both unsettling and sooo amusing. Jires wants us to know that these vampires are not to be taken too literally.

This week’s readings offer a clever insight into the Valerie viewing and how it fits into the category of a cult film. It is inherently “taboo” to showcase such a young girl in such perverse and insinuating circumstances. Jires does not shy away from nude scenes with Valerie either being naked or being among naked people. There’s also many “bloody” scenes with Polecat and Elsa. We as viewers watch this because it is not only our own morbid curiosity spurring us on, but some of these scenes really add to the plot and idea of what is going on within Valier’s head. She is a child, these kinds of things are more exaggerated because of her imagination. It can be seen as less of a random nude scene like the girls in Maniac and more of a significant plot device. Plus the new wave movement was so hot at the time that Jires really did have the freedom to film these types of scenes without fear of censorship. Although I will say, Jires seems complicit in the sexualization of Valerie from how often and long the camera stays on her in moments of undress.

VaHWoW is a very interesting watch. Not only does each shot carry so much artistry, but the plot itself is so fantastical that it is hard to believe what we are viewing is reality. As the movie moves, characters change faces and names, much like actors in a play with a limited cast. The town Valerie lives in is heavily religious, and every aspect of Valerie’s life is full of religious guilt except her own identity. She is a bit of a blank slate, innocent and endearing and young. She does not fit in with these rosary wearing children or even look related to her grey faced grandmother.

Her grandmother deserves a mention. Elsa is a ghost with a body. She moves like she exists in purgatory, directionless until Polecat revives her. At the beginning she lacks life and vitality to the point that it has affected the color of her skin. She has been greyed by the temptations of life, unlike her whimsical vibrant granddaughter Valerie. She’s a great opposite to Valerie, especially in the beginnings of the film where we don’t yet understand what is to come.

Valerie’s transformation is amazing to witness. From the first drop of blood on the white petals of a daisy Valerie’s world turns sinister and distorted. She is plagued with absent parents, constant sexuality and leering adults. And she only half understands what is going on around her, although she does know more than the audience. She takes each bizarre occurrence in stride and meets them with a rang of different feelings. From fear to curiosity to just plain puzzlement. She is also the heroine of this story, saving Elsa in the end from Polecat even though this man could potentially be her father or grandfather or- yea you get the idea.

I also am still in shock that this was the movie for this week. It could not have been a more perfect segue into my presentation on Poor Things. Serendipity! 🙂

I really enjoyed watching this, I think a second watch would only solidify my love for it as well as help me understand it a bit more. Rating it a 9/10

I liked the bat wielding mimes

**POSTED LATE WITH PERMISSION**

Okayyy, whats up y’all. CAN YOU DIG IT??

Time to dissect this awesome movie. The Warriors was released in 1979 and directed by Walter Hill. The film follows a gang known as the Warriors as they run from hundreds of gangs and the cops for a crime they are not guilty of. The Warriors are just trying to make it home safely to Coney Island and this big misunderstanding has landed them in the biggest game of cat and mouse through the streets and subway tunnels of New York City.

This film was heavily advertised with intimidating posters showcasing the “100s of gangs”. That did not bode well with the public and reports of violence and vandalism caused a lot of theaters to not release the movie. Despite the bad release and small budget, this movie has become a cult classic. Also for such a “violent” movie, this film showcased almost no weaponry. These hundreds of gangs were more focused on loyalty to each other and their homes than the idea of hurting and killing others. They only break the truce because they’re pushed to do so by Cyrus’ death. Stupid freaking Luther, I hate the guy.

That opening scene was epic, a real hook line and sinker moment as we watch all these gangs journey into the night to meet up in the park for Cyrus’ big speech “Can you dig ittttt!!” Well I certainly can. Cyrus was truly a voice of reason, he could have made his plan work but that damn crazy Luther.

I read that a majority of the film was shot within the city. They would shoot from morning to night and the film went over budget really quickly. Apparently while shooting was done in the Bronx, the crew had bricks thrown at them. And the soundtrack was brilliant. I appreciated the bouts of diegetic music where the D.J plays songs to accompany the Warriors escapade.

Man, what a rush. I thoroughly enjoyed the role of the D.J, and how all we had to go off her was red lips and a sultry voice. Very Rocky Horror-esque. She had some funny lines, especially at the end where everybody was basically like “Oh shit, sorry we tried to kill you. my bad g.” and the credits roll.

It is no wonder the Warriors coalesced such a large fanbase, it was so relatable. The queer representation for one thing, but also the cast was full of people every size, color and style, no two were really the same. My personal favorite falls between the Furies or the Reefs. My favorite characters are either Rembrandt or Masai. Masai had so much on screen presence with his reflective shades and set scowl, he was a sight to behold.

This movie truly has something for everyone, as we discussed in class. It covers the the basis of so many people and so many cliques, from bat wielding mimes to shady lesbians to the militaristic Gramercy Riffs. The fanbase for this movie is large because it does not zero in on a certain audience, its intended for everyone.

It does not take itself too seriously on the outside, and it is so colorful in the setting and the casting and the costuming. It focuses on important ideas like class division, gang violence and elements of the lgbtq.

It’s a theatrical thrill ride with heavy queer undertones and a constant warm feeling of comradery, especially within the Warriors. They accept each other as they are without fault. Rembrandt was a great, compelling character, and I appreciate that his sexuality wasn’t put under a microscope in the movie but you can tell as scenes go on, specifically with the Lizzies that he is just not into women.

The couple of the scenes where the Lizzies were seducing the Warriors was hilarious because how did they not know they were gay?? From the butch jean jackets and pixie cuts, Rembrandt was the only one who had any sense to him. But to be fair, their seduction would have worked on me too, that gang of girls was hot. Also I think Ajax was queer coded too. He was afraid of being perceived as gay because he maybe wass so instead he resorted to homophobia and multiple uses of the f-slur like a lot of closeted individuals do. Ok also Fox’s death?? That made my jaw drop, I didn’t except him to go, much less get hit by a damn train?? I audibly gasped when that happened.

I loved the ending, it was a bit funny and it reminded me of the Breakfast Club finale. Triumphant and satisfied, walking into the horizon with cool music in the background. This was a 9.5/10 movie, and I will be forcing my friends to watch it so we can dress up as members of the different gangs for Halloween.

Alright I’m going to bed now, goodnight guys

Ancient evil in modern times

I’m back on that film blog grind lets goooo

This week’s movie was 1972 Blacula, directed by William Crain. It follows the West African prince turned vampire Mamuwalde who awakens in 1972 after being condemned to being a vampire forever by Count Dracula himself. Mamuwalde is what I would call an antihero, he’s a “bad guy” because yea he does turn a lot of people into vampires but he does this out of justice. Justice for his late wife and justice for all those who suffered when he was locked away in his coffin for centuries.

William Marshall is actually one of the main reasons why Mamuwalde’s character is so dignified. During production he got them to change the prince’s name from Andrew Brown to Mamuwalde and with that the backstory, the most crucial part of the story was made. I love it when actors are able to offer so much more to a character than what the script lays out, it really gives an element of reality to the story.

This film was revolutionary for it’s time. With the utter lack of diversity in the horror genre, a movie about a Black Dracula was just crazy. This film was advertised as campy, the cheesy taglines and heavily saturated posters allude to a much less serious story than what it actually is. I was telling my friends about the film the night we watched it and they were quite amused by the film name, so much so that when I was relaying the plot to them it was obvious that they were not taking it seriously. And this film uses a lot of political and historical significance. To be reduced to just a humorous name, its an unfortunate gimmick.

The beginning of the movie is such a strong introduction in my opinion. We meet Mamuwalde, a man of high social status and power, as well as immense intellectual power. He has gone to the count along with his wife and people of his court in hopes of gaining Dracula as an ally to help suppress the growing slave trade. Dracula himself is just as bigoted as the rest, claiming that slavery has “merit” and he practically laughs at the prince’s idea. Its a disgusting display of racism that Mamuwalde meets with actual merit and wit, something that Dracula only feigns. Dracula cannot beat Mamuwalde in this battle of wits so he stoops to a lower level, insulting the prince and his wife, and then eventually taking away Mamuwalde’s power by forceful means. Even then, the prince is overpowering and it takes more than a few of Dracula’s men to subdue him.

I rooted for the prince during the entirety of this movie, the love he has for Luva and then Tina is incredibly endearing, albeit a little obsessive. But he’s a good guy. He loved Tina and wanted Tina to love him back, he never tried to use “being a vampire” as a means of exploiting her and forcing her to be with him. He wanted mutual consenting love and man that is just so sweet.

This film is a great piece of Blaxploitation. It grossed over a million dollars in the box office and it had a budget of $500,000 which is quite an amount for an independently shot film by a black director at the time. It is an amazing story of a Black man who fights against the injustice of all those who oppose him. He defies status quo as a strong black main character in a horror movie, with a good heart and is pursued endlessly because of it. I loved the exaggerated chase scenes in the film too, reminiscent of Shaft and other Blaxploitation media. Mamuwalde is a badass, he deserves a street chase set to awesome music.

I find the ending to be so damn sad. His second chance at life is taken away from him because his opposition just would not stop trying to attack him. Tina’s death was unexpected, I wish he had had a happy ending and they ended up together as they both deserved. It’s a damn travesty, so unwarranted and yet unfortunately realistic to the average life of a Black man in the 70s. This admission of defeat through suicide was heartbreakingly raw and it brings to light that this man, while seeming to be a monster is not the real evil here. Dracula is, the legacy of slavery is, but not Mamuwalde. He was forced into this servitude, this ravenous hunger for blood that can never be satiated It is sad but true, and I think that’s what made this movie so good. It does not just rely on being a vampire, it uses hard hitting themes like police brutality, racism and the slave trade to get its point across.

Plus special effects, from maggots squirming in rotted skulls to the cabby running at the screen when she goes to kill the mortician. It’s a pretty scary film to witness. I think I’ll be watching the sequel, I want to see more of Marshall’s portrayal of Mamuwalde. I’ll give this film a 10/10, its beautifully shot and the storytelling is superb.

I don’t belong in this world, That’s what it is

Guys, I LOVED this movie. I am a fanatic of the bizarre and disturbed and this checked all those boxes. This movie has seeped into my bones, specifically through the epic organ music and deranged carnival tunes that constantly shadow the whole thing.

Carnival of Souls directed by Harvey, written by John Clifford in the span of three weeks. It tells the story of Mary Henry and the unfortunate car crash that leaves her as the sole survivor. This pushes her to leave her hometown and take up a job as a church organist in Utah. Right off the bat she begins to experience these episodes, or fragments of her daily life where she is suddenly not perceived by those around her and she herself can’t perceive her surroundings beyond sight. Harvey definitely used a majority of his small budget for the camera and tech equipment he uses to convey these scenes. He takes a very subtle approach with the psychological horror of the film, and really lassoes this feeling of how alienated Mary’s character is. And we as an audience tend to feel voyeuristic for watching her through the screen.

Herk Harvey was mainly an educational and industrial filmmaker, he took on his one and only feature film (Carnival of Souls) in 1961 which was a huge flop but nonetheless became a cult classic after getting popularity on late night U.S television. Harvey was a director, writer, actor and more. Harvey co stars in this movie as the Man that follows Mary Henry through her off-putting ordeal in Utah. He had a budget of only $30,000 so I bet casting himself saved a good amount of money, plus he went to school for acting in Kansas.

Harvey was inspired by the abandoned Saltair amusement park after driving by it on his way through Utah. He speaks of how looking at the abandoned bath house stark against the red sky sent the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He claimed it was the spookiest location he’d ever seen which I have to agree with. It is very eerie and his experience in industrial filming really allows for a feeling that what were watching is reality and not just a gag. The way Mary Henry walks through it in that one scene. I was thoroughly unsettled by the eeriness of the shallow beach and big empty pavilion. It’s less of how it looked and more about the vibes of the place itself and the camera work executes that bizarre, off-putting encompassing feeling very well. Even through the screen it stirred up weird feelings from its audience.

Carnival of Souls was a stunning film to witness, and way ahead of its time too. I think it’s a nearly perfect film, and I disagree with those who say the dialogue and editing was clunky. The sloppy foley (thanks Matt) and the constant use of wild sync really adds to the distorted reality within the movie. I like that the sound of her clacking heels don’t match up to when her feet hit the floor, it was charming to me. The transition sequences were so awesome, my personal favorite being the faded but jarring cut from Mary in her car disassociating to opera music to her landlord letting her into her new room. These kind of sequences lend to the idea that something is not quite right, like her reality is not quite woven together correctly which later turns out to be true.

It’s hard to digest the ending, there’s so many ideas as to what the ending meant, if she was ever alive or if her time in Utah was just a hallucinatory dream before she died.

This idea of hallucinatory death dreams has been borrowed very heavily since this movie came out, and its honestly a trope I don’t tire of. Well, if it’s done well then it doesn’t feel overused. Such as the 2005 Stay directed by Marc Forster, with Ryan Gosling, Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and just a stellar cast. Stay follows the story of a guy, Henry Letham who gets in a crash at the very beginning of the movie. He then starts seeing a new therapist who begins to suspect the world around him and Henry isn’t quite right.

Ryan Gosling my love ❤

Instead of a shimmering mirage effect that Harvey uses(maybe too much), this movie uses a distinct style and color palette to show the decline of the world around Henry, as well as his mental state. For those who have not seen it, I won’t spoil. But it is CRIMINALLY underrated in my opinion.

After analyzing this week’s readings I’ve come to the conclusion that cult “horror” films specifically do not match up with the traditional horror movie recipe. While there is a battle for the return of normalcy from the movie’s threat, cult horror films often start bad and only go downhill from there. Like The Black Cat ended in an explosion and the death of several characters. Mary succumbs to the ghouls and she does not receive a happy ending whatsoever. Personally a bad ending is my bread and butter, I was a Goosebumps fanatic so a cliff hanger or screwed up ending is awesome. Cult horror films were tailored for the pessimists and nihilists, or maybe that’s the kind of audiences they managed to pick up. Either way, I’d rather watch Carnival of Souls for a fright over a Universal Studios horror flick any day. They’re just wired differently, better in my opinion. Anyways, a great movie with an amazing woman protagonists!! 10/10!!

Deadly is the female !!!

Alright, so I’m going to try to unpack the wild ride that is Gun Crazy. Gun Crazy directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and whose script was totally overhauled by black listed Dalton Trumbo follows the story of Bart Tare and Annie Laurie Starr. Bart is a gun obsessed sensitive, kind of listless guy who’s life path sends him careening towards the wild, attractive, adrenaline junkie known as Laurie.

I personally found this movie to be kind of exceptional for its time. Not only is the script way ahead of its time thanks to Trumbo who was masquerading as Millard Kaufman at the time; but so is the acting of John Dall and Peggy Cummins. They play these two characters so authentically and Dall really delivers a sensitive, almost painful performance as Bart. He is an addict through and through and his confusion and misplaced unhappiness when he and Laurie are on the run is so palpable through the screen. Lewis’ decision to hire Dall because of his homosexuality was an interesting take, but a good one because he has this softness beneath his masculinity that I feel like could not be achieved by other male actors. The camera work is also way ahead of its time, and was executed in such clever ways. There are intense zoom ins and long panning shots, and some gorgeous close ups of Ms. Cummins. The bank heist was done in one take as we see in the movie, but what’s even more awesome is that there was no one outside of the bank and the principal actors who were aware there was filming going on. There was actually a bystander who saw it all happening and truly believed a robbery had occurred. I love when movies use their surroundings instead off creating a setting, it adds authenticity to the proceedings.

In my opinion, I would say that Bart was heavily manipulated by Laurie, at least for the beginning of the movie when he and her run off and start their life of crime. She claims she wants “things, big things” and that she will leave if he doesn’t provide, which is a serious ultimatum considering Bart is head over heels for this hot femme fatale and he has no other options in terms of where he’s doing with his life. Later on they do fall in love , and the most obvious (and best) scene of that is when they turn their cars around and run back into each others arms instead of going their separate ways like previously planned. It’s obsessive and also so tender. I mean that kind of love is honestly a dream come true for some people.

But yea, Bart yearns to be normal, yearns for a wife and kids and just a regular ol’ job at Remington but he can’t get away from his love for shooting, and his love for Laurie. “It’s the only thing I’m good at,” he tells the judge after literally stealing a gun and committing a burglary at the age of 14. And then he tells Laurie that he hates their continuous crime sprees over and over again, yet continues to do them.

I like how they were apprehended in this movie too, tracking the serial numbers is an effective trope because these two weren’t exactly careful when it came to spending their stolen money. The most unrealistic part of the movie for me is when they have to flee the dance hall and end up losing all their stolen goods because they “left it at the hotel”. That’s just ridiculous, who would not keep their money on them, especially as wanted as they both were!! Their eventual demises certainly were not deserved but I mean, there was no other way. Especially with the Hayes Code, these two were doomed from the start.

Ok, now I want to bring to light the idea of cult value vs. exhibition value. Cult value is the act of art being ritualistic, its essence of mystery is what makes it seem “magical” and special. Like the idea of midnight movies in the present day, young moviegoers see these ritualistic viewings of Rocky Horror for example, and are entranced by the magic of it. Midnight movies are not a thing anymore but Rocky Horror remains a cult classic because of the rituals that occurred when and where it was showing in theaters. Exhibition value is when art is made for the masses, its reproduction and not meant for specialty. Van Gogh is an artist whose art is mainly appreciated through the lens of exhibition value. Starry Night and his self portrait for instance have truly been taken up and reproduced on anything from a shirt to a fridge magnet.

Cult movies fall into these two categories, they have both cult and exhibition value because they’re being played to the masses, but they attain cult value when the audience is narrowed down to those who take up rituals such as quoting the film and dressing up as characters, etc. It’s difficult to define what makes a movie, a cult movie but I do believe were getting somewhere. I thoroughly enjoyed this week’s viewing, as well as this week’s discussion. :))