Review: Paranormal Activity

Paranormal Activity (2009)
starring:Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Michael Bayouth
dir. Oren Peli

It was exactly 10 years ago the The Blair Witch Project (1999) opened up and became one of the summers biggest hits. It introduced the movie going public to what would grow into it's own sub-genre. These micro-budget horror films shot in a pseudo-documentary style have become a part of our popular culture and have ranged from a giant monster movie like Cloverfield (2008) to the annoying couple become fish food film Open Water (2003).

Paranormal Activity has had a long and strange journey. The word of mouth from Anne Thompson back in 2007 was great but it couldn't find distribution. There was an offer to remake it, but not release it in the original form. No matter how well test screening did, offers never came in.

They finally secured a deal, with midnight screenings and the opportunity to sign an online petition to have it released nation wide. I'm not sure if it is a publicity stunt, but it seems to be working. The tally is around eight-hundred thousand and rising by the minute. The goal is one million. So everyone will have an opportunity soon.

As for the movie it self, it will be looked at the same way as Blair Witch. Those who got in early before the hype grows out of control will love it. Those who see it after buzz hits the tipping point will hate it. Those who enjoy seeing the process of how a horror film works at manipulating the audience will find it very educational.

Here's the plot: Boyfriend buys video camera to capture strange things happening in the house at night. Camera starts catching weird stuff that slowly grows and grows until the final shot, which is designed to deliver a sharp shriek of fear and an uneasy feeling that all is not well in the world.

It's does contain some forced moments to try and tie the plot together , but Featherston and Sloat make a convincing couple with all of the quirks and idiosyncrasies that make couples lovable and annoying. They're fun to watch and you feel for them as they dig themselves deeper and deeper into the paranormal world.

This is a movie for folks who love horror that isn't about gore but the slow build. Outside of that, it is a fascinating experiment to see a potential model for distribution.

7.7 out of 10

POV: Flicker

Flicker (1991)
by Theodore Roszak

If you are a lover of movies, movie history and a shadow history of film that casts a dark, ominous shadow over the light of celluloid, then this book is for you.

I first picked up a paperback copy back around 1996. Like most things, I was first attracted by the cover. I'm known to pick up any book that features sprocket holes as part of the artwork. I assume it has something to do with movies, though most of the time, it doesn't. This time though, I hit pay dirt. It took about fifty pages for me to find the rhythm, but suddenly I was engrossed. It's so well written and thought out that I'm shocked it hasn't caught on to be a bigger work than it is.

This sucker is an onion, you keep pulling back layers and layers, idea upon metaphor upon theme. I'm always fascinated how I find new and deeper meanings with each read. It makes me wonder if it has to do with me growing older, learning more about film, or both. I'll say both.

The main thread is about Jonathan Gates, a young college bound kid in the late fifties who stumbles upon a small movie theater run by cineaste Clare and her stoned out projectionist, Sharkey. Gates and Clare begin an affair that will lead to the discovery and appreciation of a lost filmmaker named Max Castle. But Castle's films are much more than just b-movies, there is an under-hold, a flicker, a mysterious something that hides underneath his images.

The book is a gothic thriller that uses real movie history as the building blocks for a religious cult that is out to destroy the world. However cheesy it sounds, the book works incredibly well.

I remember trying to track down the rights to it and there was a big legal battle at the time. They ended up at Regency Productions and for a while Darren Aronofsky was attached. The only outcome of that was the most recent printing in 2005 which states Aronofsky's involvement. He has since left the project.

Only time will tell if a great movie will be made from this. There is a great movie in the book, it just depends on who ends up making it. But for now we have the perfection that is the novel and as soon as you've finished the latest political biography, or Stephen King paperback, pick this up and give it a read. You wont be disappointed.

The Eclectic Choice: Family Plot

Family Plot (1976)
dir. Alfred Hitchcock

This isn't Rear Window (1954), Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958) or Strangers On A Train (1951). Hitchcock has a list of classics a football field long, and sure, this isn't one of them. Sure it may be flawed, silly, fluffy fun, but it is Hitch's last film and there is a lot more to it than you might expect.

The main plot circles around a fake, or is she, psychic who along with her cab driving boyfriend decide to hunt down an heir to a fortune. These characters are played with charisma and some real genuine chemistry by Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris. It's a blast to watch these two together. they have this rhythm that feels like a couple in love, even through the minor bickering of everyday life. Dern is a very different character than we are used to seeing. Sure he's quirky, but far from the nut-ball borderline psychos hat he is famous for. It is a real shame Barbara Harris was dealing with personal problems that stifled her career. Between this, Nashville (1975) and Freaky Friday (1968), it's impossible not to notice her incredible range and the cute-as-a-button looks this lady has. I really wish she was able to do more.

The weakness of the movie is William Devane who is always dependable, but is always William Devane. The character is weak and his subplot to kidnap people and ransom them for diamonds never really takes off. Karen Black plays Devane's accomplice, but isn't given much to do.

It's fun and frothier then most of Hitchcock's work, but it also includes a lot of the masters touches that made him such a great filmmaker. Does it stand up to his best films? Of course not, but few movies can or ever will be able to hold up such standards. Hitch may have not gone out with a bang, but as he literally ends his cinematic career with a wink at the camera, it reminds us that the man was never about delivering the normal set of expectations.

R.I.P. Henry Gibson

Henry Gibson (1935-2009)

Henry Gibson will be remembered for two major things. The first is a regular on Laugh In and the second was as the leader of the Nazi's in The Blues Brothers (1980). But for me there are three roles that really single him out as a major talent. The first two are for Robert Altman films.

His portrayal of Haven Hamilton in Nashville (1975) is great stuff. He captured all of the hypocrisy of Christianity and the entertainment world. All smiles and glad handing in public and just a royal judgmental prick in private. It's a stroke of genius in a movie that has genius at every turn.

The second was his take on Dr. Verringer in The Long Goodbye (1973). It's a tough thing to make intimidating Sterling Hayden look legit and Gibson did it with flying colors. Cold, steely eyes and the delivery of "Sign the check Roger!" You actually think he could kill Hayden with that look. Fantastic.

The third is in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999), as the snobbish barfly Thurston Howell. He takes down a crumbling William H. Macy with his one-liners and wandering eyebrows with the creepy grace and elegance of a serial killer. Plus his name is Thurston Howell, which is awesome.

There is also his work in Innerspace (1987), The Wedding Crashers (2005) and several episodes of King Of The Hill to take into account. The man worked rigorously and brought a touch of humor and ingenuity to every character he performed. It was an excellent career and one that will stand the test of time.

Not On DVD: Ride The Pink Horse

Ride The Pink Horse (1947)
dir. Robert Montgomery

The second (official) film directed by Montgomery, this may not be as stylistically experimental as his debut effort Lady In The Lake (1947), but this is a tighter story and grimy as hell.

Montgomery plays Lucky Gagin. He's tough, ruthless and is seeking to avenge, in the form of blackmail, a murdered friend. His adventure leads him to a dirty border town where he runs into a Fed, played brilliantly by Art Smith, who is after the same guy.

With a wicked-mean femme fatale, a Latino psychic predicting the worst for our hero and a smooth-as-glass bad guy who plays up his hearing aid like a badge of honor, this is hard boiled dipped in wrought iron. It's tough, mean, brutal and ornery. A real overlooked gem.

To ice the cake, the script is written by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer who supply some great dialog that is endlessly quotable. A tight well paced piece that ranks with the best of their work.

This is a mandatory watch for any noir buff and a real shame that it doesn't have a DVD release.

Review: Whiteout

Whiteout (2009)
staring: Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Columbus Short, Tom Skerritt
dir. Dominic Sena

A real waste of time and potential. Go and read the graphic novels by Greg Rucka, they are superior in every way. Bad dialog, shit direction and bland acting. It felt like the actors wanted to get off the screen as much as I wanted to get out of the theater.

I would like to point out a moment that got some big laughs for the audience. Unintentional, of course. Carrie Stetko, played by Beckinsale keeps having crappy flashbacks of a situation gone wrong. She and her partner have arrested some drug trafficker and have holed u in a hotel for some unknown reason. They handcuff the guy to one of the beds and Stetko decides to get some rest. She wakes up and sees the empty handcuffs on the bedpost where her Bad Guy once was. Her narration spouts, "I felt something was wrong as soon as I woke up." No shit, the guy is gone sweetie. Open handcuffs, hmmmm that seems fishy. Fuck, it was just ridiculous.

I will give props to some of the production design. there was some decent work done there guys, unfortunately the director only knows how to do closeups of faces, so the odds of your work getting any screen time are little to none. Sorry.

Oh, I'll also give credit to Skerritt. Not for his acting, but for his attempt to look as much like Kris Kristofferson as possible. Apparently Kristofferson had something better to do than this role. Like clean up the dog shit from his back yard.

It's just a shame, there was so many possible for tension and horror and mystery that just seems tossed out and wasted. If you can't figure out who the bad guy in in ten minutes, you're not paying attention. No matter how hard they try to pull a shifty eyed dog on you.

4 out of 10

Clip Art: Jubilee

Jubilee (1977)
dir. Derek Jarman


This is a great scene from a very interesting cult movie. It may not be 100% successful, but a fascinating film with an original voice and point of view.

Jubilee was Jarman's second feature film and was received with mixed reaction. Even members of the punk community felt they were betrayed by this film.

But everyone agrees this is a great moment. It features Orlando as Borgia Ginz who delivers a rant that sounds like something Rupert Murdoch would jerk off to. Punk icon Jordan plays Amyl Nitrate, the lip sinking songstress. The song is actually sung by Suzi Pinns. Jordan played a key role in England's punk movement and was one of the performers at the famous SEX (boutique). According to Wikipedia she is now a veterinary nurse and breeds Burmese cats. You can't punk forever, I guess.