My Science Project (1985): Fantastical Metamorphosis

All throughout the 1980s, moviegoers were bombarded with a number of films that contained elements of science fiction, fantasy and adventure, and more often than not these movies were set in the real world and filled with regular people. Though the lines were very blurred, these films varied in both tone and in their target audience, with some being more for children (Goonies; E.T.) and others being more for adults (The Terminator; Robocop), while there were those that sort of met right in the middle (Ghostbusters; Back to the Future). And then there were movies that targeted the teen audience, such as Real Genius, Weird Science, and of course writer/director Jonathan R. Betuel’s My Science Project.

What makes movies such as My Science Project and others from that era so enjoyable is the way in which they captured youthful imagination. There’s a true sense of wonderment and curiosity to be found in these types of films, and often these feelings come from putting characters in situations that challenges them to embrace either adulthood or the child within them. In the case of My Science Project, it’s the former, as the film’s lead character, Michael (John Stockwell), is at a point in his life where he really needs to grow up.  

Form a heart-to-heart conversation with his teacher (played by Dennis Hopper) early in the film, it becomes apparent that Michael is a smart kid. Within this same scene, it also becomes very obvious that Michael's not living up to his potential, as he's far more concerned about his car (which he lovingly refers to as his GOAT) than he is in his own future. Michael’s a brilliant kid who lacks drive, and at this integral point in his life as a high school senior, he needs to turn things around or face some heavy consequences.

Michael's lack of motivation and love of his car is not only hurting him scholastically, it has taken a toll on his relationship as well. Again, Michael is more concerned with his car than he is romancing his girlfriend, who breaks up with him for those very reasons (to be fair, though, her expectations are a bit much). The breakup bothers Michael, as he doesn’t seem to think there were any issues with their relationship, which shows how little he has paid attention to anything other than his car. At this point in Michael’s life, the world is simply moving on without him, and he will be left behind if he doesn’t step things up.

Michaels immature nature become the catalyst for the events to come, as his lack of focus on school work has put him in a position where he needs to do well on his science project. If he doesn’t, he will not receive a diploma. Since Michael has not been putting much effort into his studies, he has no science project. As a result, Michael, very characteristically decides to take the easy way out by going to an old junkyard that was once used for military testing in the hopes that he can find something to pass off as his science project.

Joined by the class nerd and eventual love interest, Ellie (Danielle von Zerneck), Michael stumbles upon a hidden underground bunker at the military complex where he finds a strange orb. It's mesmerizing glow immediately captures Michael’s attention, making it an obvious item to turn in as his science project. Due to the film’s opening scene involving a military discovery of a UFO, it’s already apparent that this orb is not of this world. This is further cemented in the next few days, as every time Michael and his best friend, Vince (Fisher Stevens), mess with the contraption, something bizarre happens. It isn’t long before Michael and Vince learn that the orb can manipulate time, and through a series of fantastical events, the orb opens up a time portal in their high school.

After learning that Ellie is trapped inside the school, Michael is now in a position where he has the opportunity to man up and save her from this hostile situation. As a result, Michael, Vince and the school geek, Sherman (Raphael Sbarge), enter the high school to rescue Ellie, only to find themselves facing off against a number of deadly antagonists from various points in time, including Vietnamese soldiers, dinosaurs and aliens from the future.

Now, this is where things get interesting for Michael as a character, as his route towards becoming a man involves acting out the fantasies of almost every young boy (and some young girls, too, I assume). Killing aliens and dinosaurs with machine guns, without any consequences, is the stuff that dreams are made of when you’re a kid (well, at least me). it’s this fantastical situation, however, that forces Michael to think about someone other than himself and, more importantly, his car. Saving Ellie is all that matters to Michael, as she is the one person who has inspired him to, quite simply, be more concerned with something other than his car.

Michael and Ellie’s relationship is truly what drives his transformation towards becoming an adult. What I find most enjoyable about the way in which their relationship is portrayed is how different Michael and Ellie are from one another. As previously noted, Michael is a gearhead with a reputation as a cool dude, while Ellie, on the other hand, is a glasses wearing bookworm who has absolutely no interest in cars. The two characters are true opposites, yet the fact that they are opposites is never made to be a big deal by the characters or the film itself.

While My Science Project is a lesser-known film from the era, it shouldn’t take away from the value that the film provides in terms of its characters. It’s a movie I greatly enjoyed as a child, and now, as an adult, I still find it to be a fun, nostalgic romp that echoes back to the days of yesteryear; where movies weren’t afraid to be sincere and innocence was embraced by adults and children alike.

Private Parts (1972): Filthy Fairytale

*Disclaimer!* I wrote a handful of articles for a now defunct e-zine called BthroughZ a number of years back, and when that site went belly up, so didn’t the reviews I wrote for it. I didn’t want to lose the articles I worked so hard to write, so over the next few months I will be reposting them here for your enjoyment.

1972’s Private Parts follows the exploits of an adventurous teenage girl named Cheryl (Ayn Ruymen). When Cheryl is first introduced, it is learned that she stole money from her parents and fled the state of Ohio with her best friend so they could live the high life in Los Angeles. After a less than positive run in with her best friend/roommate, Cheryl steals her friend’s wallet and flees the scene--just as she had done with her parents--to find something better than being judged and yelled at constantly.

With a small amount of cash and nowhere else to go, Cheryl makes her way to a rough area in L.A. and ultimately to her Aunt Martha’s (Lucille Benson) hotel. Not really a hotel as much as an apartment building, Cheryl talks Martha into letting her stay there for the time being, and in return, she will help out around the hotel to earn her keep. Filled with many eccentric and strange residents, this hotel is not the normal stomping ground for a youthful girl such as Cheryl. Furthermore, the hotel is filled with numerous dark and dangerous secrets, most notably being the hotel’s resident serial killer who preys on any unwanted trespassers.

While the hotel has a murderer running around it’s colossal hallways, Private Parts is not a slasher movie. There are certainly some elements, but this one is something entirely different. In fact, I would consider it to be more of a fantasy film, but a fantasy film that is definitely not made for kids. Well, unless they’re feral.

Cheryl’s proverbial ‘rabbit hole’ is the entrance to the seedy hotel, which is filled with fantastical characters who are clearly not facets of a ‘normal’ real world. All of the hotel’s inhabitants are odd and varied in their strangeness, with one character who frolics around dressed up as a priest but really seems to enjoy the company of big strong men. There’s the usual crazy old lady lurking the halls, spewing weird shit about a girl named Alice to anyone who will listen. And then there is George (John Ventantonio), a creepy photographer who mostly keeps to himself, but has some very unhealthy sexual issues.

Cheryl is attracted to George, whose reclusive and dark nature is undeniably appealing to Cheryl, and the two characters come to indirectly play a game of unhinged cat and naive mouse. However, mouse or not,  Cheryl is very much a willing participant in this game, and her fairytale adventure is mostly driven by her curiosity towards sex. Cheryl, who hates being looked at as a child, seems to believe the way to becoming respected as an adult is through sexual activity, and she pursues this activity in a fashion that’s both innocent and very aware.

Cheryl is driven by her sexual desire, and with a wide eyed curiosity she looks to do something that she is not familiar with; something that stimulates her growing feminine needs. Young or not, Cheryl isn’t intimidated by the more ‘out there’ aspects of sexuality. Some of the acts that George asks Cheryl to participate in are things that would creep out the average girl, especially a young one. This is not the case with Cheryl, as she seems to be intrigued by the sexual adventures, possibly seeing them as a way towards being liberated from childhood.

Ayn Ruymen, who plays Cheryl, is absolutely terrific. She is the driving force of the movie, and watching Cheryl slyly navigate the halls of the old hotel--curiously investigating all the little secrets that the hotel has to offer--is very enjoyable. This is really where you see that no matter how sexual she wants to be or thinks she is, Cheryl is just a kid; a child exploring a place that offers curiosities that most girls of her age would find to be taboo. Ruymen, who was much older than the age of her character, captures this youthful inquisitiveness very well, and it’s easy to feel as if you are right alongside Cheryl on her adventure.

While the fantasy and sexual elements are a major part of its DNA, Private Parts still has a lot of horror elements. The hotel setting is creepy and filled with many dark corners, creaky floorboards, and quirky little intricacies that make it a nice visual world for Cheryl to explore. Though they are few and far between, there are also a few murders, but the horror aspect of the film really comes from the undercurrent that something sinister is going on, and very few people seem to be aware of it.

The hotel does harbor a dark history, and this is further compounded by Aunt Martha’s constant warnings for Cheryl to stay inside and keep away from the other tenants. Under a seemingly normal and stable guise, Aunt Martha herself is as odd as the rest of them, especially the way in which her personality can change from one moment to the next. One second, she warns Cheryl to just keep safe and out of sight, and in the next she is preaching abstinence and yelling about how she will not put up with any painted whores in her home. Martha plays the cautionary role, but in true fantasy form, she would appear less than trustworthy. To an extent, Martha is protecting Cheryl, but she is also clearly hiding some very dark secrets.

Private Parts is directed by genre legend Paul Bartel. Bartel’s direction is very solid in Private Parts, with its biggest strength coming from its subtlety. There are little flashes of eye catching style that show up from time to time, but these touches are subtle, which works perfectly for bringing to life the film’s fantastical elements. To go too far with the visuals could have taken away from the base realism of the movie. These slight touches are just small reminders that there is something off about the world that Cheryl is in. It’s a skewed reality but a reality nonetheless.

There is plenty I didn’t touch on in this review of Private Parts, but I plan on touching Private Parts as much as possible, and I encourage you to do the same. It’s an odd little film that will leave you contemplating some of the deeper aspects long after sitting through it, which for me is the mark of great filmmaking.

 

Ink

Written and directed by Jamin Winans, Ink is a surreal fantasy film that shines the light on those that control both our dreams and our nightmares. There's the good - they are called the Storytellers, and they're the ones behind all of our happiest dreams. Then there are the bad -  they are known as Incubi, and the Incubi are the ones that cause us to have our worst nightmares. Then there is the ugly - his name is Ink, and he is a damaged man who has gone down a path that has put him in a place where he wants to become one of the Incubi. And to do so, Ink must find a sacrifice that will satisfy the Incubi so they will allow Ink into their fold. Ink's sacrifice would become Emma (Quinn Hunchar), a young girl who Ink kidnaps from her own dreams, only to bring her to an alternate dream realm, leaving her physical being in a comatose state.

The Storytellers must to use the help of a man known as The Pathfinder to help find and rescue Emma from Ink and her impending sacrifice. They cannot do it alone as they need help from someone in the real world, someone that loves Emma but is too clouded in his own ego to do the right thing. That would be John (Chris Kelly), Emma's estranged father. John has some very serious personal issues such as a raging work related God complex and an incredible anger he fosters for losing custody of Emma due to his abuse of alcohol and drugs after his wife's tragic death.

To say Ink is ambitious would be underselling it big time, and the fact that this film cost about $250k to make is an incredibly impressive feat all its own. Along with being the writer and director, Jamin Winans edited the film as well as composed the amazing original soundtrack. He also served as the films co-producer with Kiowa K. Winans, who is credited for the Art Direction, Costume and Sound Design of this very grass roots film.

Shot by cinematographer Jeff Pointer, Ink has a visual style that would best be described as Sin City though the eyes of Terry Gilliam. The intense style used is a wise choice in that is helps hide the low budget look of the film, which is still apparent no matter what. One of the issues I had with the film initially is the erratic camera work and quick editing style. However, this is probably the only way to do what was done and make it look bigger than they could make it with the low budget, so they get a pass. Plus, hate it or not, it is well done for this style and everything flows pretty well and gets better throughout the film.

Some of the performances are very good (for what they are), namely the young girl who plays Emma, Quinn Hunchar. Jessica Duffy is more than capable as she portrays Liev, a Storyteller that becomes a hostage of Ink when she tries to unsuccessfully rescue Emma from her eventual sacrifice. Her character and Emma have some genuinely tender moments together that could have been totally cheesy, but they worked very well and added to Duffy's character and here selflessness. Chris Kelly, who plays Emma's issue ridden father, John is very solid too and carries a lot of the emotional baggage in Ink and he does so quite effectively. There are a few weak performances to go along with the better ones, and the most annoying comes from Jeremy Make, who plays Jacob, The Pathfinder. He's just very over the top and reminded me of a second rate Dane Cook, which is not really a good thing even if it was first rate.

The Pathfinder does bring me to another important facet of Ink and this is what makes The Pathfinder bearable for me. He is a blind character with an ability to see by using the rhythm of the Earth, or the rhythm of life as it were. That rhythm leads to an awesome scene of chain reactions that had me floored with how it unfolded and how it was created on every level. From the way it looked, the way things happened, and the way that The Pathfinder almost orchestrates the events had me caught up in the as they unfolded and connected to an earlier event in the movie.

There is not that much action in this film at all and most of the action is at the beginning and then at the end. This is where the choppy film style comes together quite perfectly as the real world and the quasi dream realm collide for an interesting cause and effect fight scene between the Incubi and the Storytellers. Light on the tough stuff this film may be, but what it brought instead of flying fists is what I loved about Ink. $250,000 fucking dollars this film cost and it brought more emotional impact than all but maybe three films I have seen this year. One film that came to mind for its story of good versus evil and its stylistic ambition was Night Watch (a film I hate), which had a budget of 4 MILLION dollars and couldn't achieve a sliver of what Ink could dish out in spoonfuls as far as passion and heart.

Heart is something that is to be almost neglected or done poorly in an action adventure/fantasy film and that is the transcendental element of this movie, it is not afraid to be an impact full story. Not a love story, but a story of love and fear and being unsure of ones self. It is a story of being alone by choice and why that choice is made, and how it can affect the ones around you and even the ones that are not around you. Personal greed and selflessness are major themes in Ink and I was emotionally touched by this moving modern day fairytale, as it was able to greatly exceed its meager budget with passion, care, and honesty.

This film is getting a small amount of buzz on teh webs and I hope to contribute to this buzz a little. This is an emotionally charged film that I would love to see get the support it deserves. Ink is available from all the usual places and better yet, it's on Netflix instant watch, so if you have access, you can watch it that way too. Here is a link to the film's website if you would like some more info on the movie and I hope everyone checks out this independent gem.