Even though it's still somewhat early in the season, the horror that is summer has already reared its ugly mug, causing plenty of 90+ days, filled with as much humidity as an early Schwarzenegger film. One thing that can help curb the annoyance of the summer sizzle is some snow filled cinema, and if we're in the snow, why not spill a little blood to add a hint of color to the virginal pallet? It is summer, so the flowers are blooming - The Flower of Carnage, that is.
Written by Kazuo Koike, with music by Masaaki Hirao, The Flower of Carnage (Shura no Hana) is the theme song from the 1973 Japanese samurai revenge flick, Lady Snowblood. What makes this song just a little more special is the fact that it was sung by Lady Snowblood herself, Meiko Kaji. I'm a huge fan of Lady Snowblood and pretty much anything that Meiko Kaji touches, so naturally every second of this song makes my head and shoulders sway back and forth like long grass in the wind. It's a very soft and beautiful sounding song, which is a great contrast to the subject matter of the lyrics as well as the film in which it was written for. The title The Flower of Carnage really says it all, as that is the character of Lady Snowblood…a gorgeous and delicate flower, that is capable of true carnage in the name of vengeance.
I don't know how this one got past me, but I am guessing it isn't very well known that cult film icon, Vonetta McGee, passed away on July 9th at the age of 65. I'm (not really) surprised it hasn't been a slightly bigger deal with some of the cinematic work she has done, and I might have all but missed the news if not for Ivan's post about her passing over at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear. As a fan of many of the films she has worked in, as well as a fan of cult cinema in general, I feel she more than deserves a little love here at CNAMB.
Here are a few trailers for some of her most notable films:
On an interesting side note, director Alex Cox is a Spaghetti Western guru, even writing a book on the subject. He does an interview on the DVD release for The Great Silence where he cites that film as where he would be first introduced to McGee, enjoying her so much that he would later use her in a small yet awesome role in Repo Man. I quite enjoy The Great Silence, and consider Repo Man one of the greatest cult films of all time, so it's pretty interesting how things like that come together.
It's sad that she had to go at such a young age, but she has left behind a solid batch of classic cult films for many to enjoy for years to come.
Rolling Thunder is a 1977 revenge tale that focuses on Major Charles Rane (William Devane), a man who spent seven years of his life in a Vietnam POW camp but has finally found his way home. Everything appears great at first, as he comes back to a grand homecoming celebration with much of the community there to clap and celebrate in his honor. He is a war hero, a man that survived against all odds and is being recognized by all for his time served.
When Rane and fellow POW, Johnny Vohden (Tommy Lee Jones), make their way back home - even through the gloss of celebration - they clearly have nothing to celebrate. You can see they are hallow men by the empty looks in their eyes, a blank stare caused by spending seven years in hell. Even the interactions Rane has with other people are off, as outside of the "glad you're homes" and the "you are a true heroes," people aren't even sure how to react to Rane, even his own wife.
Everyone thought Rane was most likely dead, and seven years is a lot of time for a women - who bore his child just before he left - to stay alone. She met another man and planned to marry him, and those plans are not changed by Rane coming back home after all these years. Now, Rane is a man that lost everything mentally in Nam, he sacrificed his life, went through horrors that no one should ever go though, and now he comes home only to find out he's lost everything there too. He has nothing…
What Rane does have, unfortunately, is what the lasting effects of his trauma have left on him. He becomes very solitude and while people aren't sure how to react to him, he isn't sure how to go back to normal, especially when normal is not as he left it. In one very telling and uncomfortable scene, Rane has an interaction with another character and decides to show him an example of one of the torture he faced everyday. He does so by acting it out, showing how he learned to deal with the pain he went though. Rane goes a little too far, far to the point where it is clear that he is not yet able to separate himself from what he spent doing for the last seven years. It's almost become a part of his being – it's what he knows.
There is a clear but calm rage in Rane, a rage brought forth by going through what he did, by losing his life and himself. He has no release for this rage, but his opportunity would come when he is even further destroyed. When his return home from Nam was celebrated, he was presented with a red Cadillac and 2,555 silver dollars - one for every day he was a prisoner. These gifts are of no value in comparison to what happened to him and the loss he has faced. However, these gifts have plenty value to men that are less than honorable and carry absolutely no value.
Rane is attacked at home by a group of gun totting men who saw all the shiny silver dollars that he received on TV. They want his more than hard earned wealth, but Rane - being as strong as he is due to his recent past - will not give it up too easily. Even when they torture him, it is for not, and while Rane might not want to give up what is his because of sternness, he also may want to be tortured, because that is all he now knows. Rane's soon to be ex-wife and son come home right as all of this is happening, and afraid for his father's life, his son tells them where the silver dollars are.
Unfortunately, when the thieves get the money, they kill his wife, his son and shoot Rane, but he doesn't die. Rane, who essentially had nothing, did at least have one thing, a chance to become the father to his son. Now that chance is gone, and while they left Rane for dead, he isn't, and now this is his opportunity to get out all the rage that is built up inside of him. Rane can exorcise all of his demons, and these demons are on a collision course with a group of men that made the biggest mistake of their lives, wronging the devil.
It's incredibly bleak with how Rane gets this almost meaningless payment for his time served, or, for his pain served - I should say. Sadly, it is this payment for pain that would only serve to cost him even more heartache. The only way to get this heartache out is to go after the men who did this to him, to take out all of his suffering that he has endured for the past seven plus years, and all of it is going to come down on them.
He now has a purpose again and a reason to live, which is to kill those that took the very last thing he had. All of that emptiness, all of that anger and all of the pain will be projected onto taking revenge on these men. He's a dead man with a goal, and at one point, he even says to a female that he befriends: "My eyes are open, I'm looking at you, but I'm dead." That line alone is very telling of this character and where he is in his life, or lack thereof.
Directed by John Flynn, with a screenplay by Paul Schrader and Heywood Gould, Rolling Thunder is a revenge film, yes, but not one that is exploitative like many of it's time. It is more a deep character study, one that has been seen in plenty of movies involving characters coming home from war, only to be something other than what they left as. It's well made, rough around the edges and gritty but avoids the over the top aspect of many films of the genre, until the films climax where shit hits the fan, and the payoff is given with an amazing little whore house set gun battle that is sure to pump up even the lamest of viewers.
Rolling Thunder's performances are great from all, especially Devane, who has a lot of shit laying on his character shoulders, and he carries it well. I also found Linda Haynes (who plays his love interest and possible path back to some form of happiness) to be really good and a character that developed quite well as the film went along. Of course, I have to touch on Tommy Lee Jones, who has the coldest look in his eyes and is simply great in his small but important role. You can really see why he became the star he did, and it is awesome seeing him play a character like this…I only wish he had done it more.
Rolling Thunder is a very subtle but powerful film that works as a window into what many have gone through but few can truly understand. Sometimes what you see when you look through such a window is devastating, but it is something we all should see from time to time as a reminder of other's suffering.
It's time to rise from that hard earned slumber, so you can enjoy your day the way you were meant to…drooling, covered in sweat (or at least I hope that's sweat) and unable to move the necessary limbs to lift you from where you lay. This is better known as a hangover, but don't fret my dear reader, I have the remedy to make this sad state you're in just a little more tolerable.
We'll start our day off with Monster Ark, playing on good ol' SyFy at 11:00. In what is a ridiculous but kind of good idea, this one asks - what if Noah's Ark wasn't the only ark that sailed the seas? What if there were another ark, one that housed a monster?! It's really not a bad idea, but what is most appealing about this one is it stars Tommy "Tiny" Lister, better known as Zeus! I wonder if it is he that plays the titular monster?
We can keep the dial set to SyFy since Reign of the Gargoyles is set to rain some badass gargoyle action all over yo ass at 1:00. Of course there is no trailer for this one, but based off this fantastic photo, you just know that Reign of the Gargoyles is the real deal Holyfield.
And if you still aren't of the belief that goreguyales aren't completely frightening, then just ask the god warrior.
Taking a step back from the gold that SyFy has already brought us, our hangover continues at 1:00 with Disturbia, on TNT. I guess this is supposed to be okay, or at least that's what I've heard. I always have been, and always will be, skeptical until I have seen it for myself I suppose. I have issues getting past the moronic name…Disturbia? Really? How about Scaretopia? Or Frightville? Maybe even Horriblefield?
Oh, here's a good one…if you have IFC, a TV, taste, and love something great, 3:00 brings us the Martial Arts epic, Hero. There was that small amount of time where a handful of pretty amazing Martial Arts flicks were getting into theaters after the success of Crouching Tiger, and Hero was one of them. From top to bottom this one is just so beautiful, and I cannot recommend it anymore, especially if you have not seen it for yourself. Even if you aren't much for the Asian action, this is well worth it, and it should look more than proper on IFC too. Pick of the week.
Our day comes to an end at 4:00 with Final Destination 3 on TBS. I didn't really enjoy this one the first time I saw it (especially after how great the second one was), but I have really grown to like this third entry in the FD franchise. More of the same, fun deaths and…you know…some other stuff. And I just love the tanning bed death for some reason. It's so completely off the wall, and seeing the death of some stuck-up bitches is always a joy to watch, especially when they're naked with very nice and tan milk providers.
Legendary rock band KISS was massive in the mid to late 70's, in fact, they were bigger than John Holmes they were so popular. While KISS was (and somewhat still are) popular for their music, their live performances and their stage makeup, they are also known as one of the most marketed bands of all time, with toys, board games, wine and even the now legendary Kiss Kasket. If a band has that much marketing appeal, you just know they are going to have some sort of celluloid love at some point (come on boys and girls, Spice up your life, for example). Thankfully, that time came way back on October 28th of 1978 (right before Halloween!), when NBC aired KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park.
Because all of the musical performance scenes are disabled by assholes, I had to go with something a little different from what I would normally do. I have two clips, with the first one being an NBC bumper for the film, which is fun just for the old style ad alone but made even better by the Phantom of the Park stuff itself. You'll see what I mean when you get to the "We've got to get out of here" line, which should be more than enough to win you over. I also threw in a lengthy promo, which has many moments from the film, including a portion of the awesome opening where the band is introduced to the KISS Klassic, Rock and Roll All Nite. Check 'em out, yo.
Obviously the film was not received well by critics, nor was the band all that fond of how it turned out either, however, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park has become somewhat of a cult classic over the years, which gives it more staying power than anyone would have ever have imagined at the time. I remember seeing this on TV when I was pretty young…I can't remember exactly how young, but I would guess it was sometime in the early 80's. Even though I was well aware of just how cheesy it was, I absolutely loved it, but I also absolutely loved KISS too. Plus, as a budding young horror fan, the amusement park setting and G rated horror elements were certainly appealing to me.
I would love to see the film again, and seeing all the clips I did while getting this post ready only made me want to see it even more. Seriously, I can't imagine anything like this being made now, or at least made, then aired on a channel such as NBC. I mean, each of the members had superpowers! It just doesn't get any hokier than KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park but really, what could anyone have expected?! I call for a DVD release immediately!
Oh snap, it's time for trailers! I know I'm excited, are you excited? No? Ugh, you are so rude, but that's why I love you…it's like a game of cat and mouse trying to win your affection. I was going to post the Paranormal Activity 2 teaser and the Let Me In trailer, both of which are pretty good, especially the PA one, but that shit is all over the net of inter, so I'll stick to the lesser known films. They deserve the love more, and I shall give it to them. Unless you want to talk Scream 4 rumors? That's always interesting.
First up is the full trailer for Bitter Feast, a film that has a celebrity chef kidnap and take revenge on the (blogger!) food critic that deals the final 'bad review' blow to his already waning career. I've been following this one for a while, as the idea behind it is pretty funny, and I can imagine that a chef will be able to deal out some interesting ways to create pain for his victim. Directed by Joe (Di?) Maggio, Bitter Feast is also produced by Larry Fessenden's Glass Eye Pix, which has been a solid independent horror company, putting out quality cinema offerings for some time now, so that certainly bodes well for this film. Check out the trailer, but don't do so on an empty stomach. Unless you're going swimming in the next hour or something, then do watch it with an empty stomach. I don't want you to drown.
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Next trailer up to bat is Eugenio Mira's Agnosia, a Spanish film that focuses on a women who suffers from agnosia, a neurological illness that keeps the brain from correctly processing senses like hearing and sight. After her father passes away, she becomes the victim of some 'less than stellar' folk that would try and use her illness against her, to learn the industrial secret that her father shared with her before his death. This is a film that Todd Brown from over at Twitch has been jizzing about recently, and I certainly trust his opinion. It's an interesting idea, and I am sure the use of sensory confusion will play out in a nice way visually (kinda-sorta like The Cell, maybe? Kinda?). The teaser is brief and doesn't really give off very much, but it does look quite nice.
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Last, but certainly not least, here is the newest trailer for, Nicolas Winding Refn's, Valhalla Rising. Set in 1000 AD, the film follows a one-eyed Norse warrior named One Eye, naturally, and his young companion (not named young companion) as they travel with a group of Vikings who come face to face with a bloody fate as they discover a new land and One Eye discovers himself. It's like a coming of age tale - but with a one-eyed adult that hangs with Vikings and has a knack for jacking dudes up.
This trailer is as manly as it gets, and to top it off, there are a few brief shots of wicked violence, which is more than enough to catch the eye of most genre fans. While some might see his films as somewhat pretentious in their artistic endeavor, Refn is an amazing director, and his films will stick with you well after you see them. Oh, and one of the genre tags for Valhalla Rising is Science Fiction, which really makes things a whole lot more interesting. Grab a stein, a massive turkey leg, kick up your fur skin boots, and check out the trailer for yourself.
We have seen the world face extinction in plenty of big budget movies, with national monuments blowing up, zombie swarms spreading faster than your dirty little secret itch, Earth shattering quakes…you get the picture. When it comes to apocalyptic happenings in movies with a lower budget, challenges are greater, namely, there is not the money in place for huge action set pieces. Instead, the filmmakers must use there lack of budget to be creative, to make the viewer feel the end is near without the help of major CGI effects.
2009's Salvage is a British film that is without the benefits of money (working on a budget just above three hundred thousand US dollars), so there is a need to work around these restraints. There are often common elements when it comes to very low budget films that focus on some sort of apocalyptic occurrence, one being seclusion and the other being character development. You set up the conflict happening outside and somehow trap the characters inside, where the viewer is actually along for the ride that the characters are on, as they are on it in real time. It is something we have seen before, most recently with 2006's Right at Your Door and of course, it goes way back to Romero's Night of the Living Dead.
Salvage follows minimal characters, namely Beth (Neve McIntosh, who gives a powerful performance) and her one 'day' stand, Kieran (Shaun Dooley), as their lives are thrown into chaos when a group of heavily armed military men take over their upper-class neighborhood on Christmas Eve. Forced at gunpoint to stay in their homes, they are left to speculate as to what could be happening in the world outside of their front door. Thoughts immediately go to terrorism, but there seems to be something far more threatening as they may have more to fear than just the armed military personnel, or a foreign attack.
Playing off of characters instead of big explosions, Salvage makes perfect use of its antagonists. The film has characters with complexity, characters with problems and major flaws, but the relatability of those flaws make the characters easy to access on a human level. When the viewer first meets Beth, it is when she is catching a couple of inches from Kieran, only to be caught by her daughter Jodie (Linzey Cocker) after being dropped off by her father a few hours early to spend the Christmas holiday. There is already major strain in their relationship, which is something that plays into the film nicely as a plot point, and pushes the character development. Kieran also holds some qualities that are less than respectable, and this gives a great dynamic to his relationship with Beth, whom he only met that same day.
With little money on his side, director Lawrence Gough has constructed a solid film with an intimate setting, strong characters, and a capable style. Even more so, Salvage plays its tension tightly and the pressure stays on for much of the film's first two acts. There is little to no music as things move quietly at times, adding to the bpm for the characters, as well as the viewer. The runtime is short, and with such a minimal film, that works to its advantage, keeping things very brisk and nicely paced. There are never any moments where things lull, and if they do, it is for the purpose of the fantastic character development.
Neither of those issues take anything away from the film as a whole, as Salvage succeeds where many big budgeted FX laden apocalyptic films fail, it uses pieces of the cinematic puzzle that equate to skill and creativity. The possibility that the world is coming to complete catastrophe is made valuable with characters, not with special effects. Salvage is seeing its US release in just a few days from the folks over at Revolver Entertainment, and I highly suggest checking this one out.
