Horror Scenes I Love: The Prophecy (dir. by Gregory Widen)

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Arleigh

What is it about stories of angels and demons that makes people gravitate towards them. One doesn’t even have to be religious to feel a sense of curiosity towards such stories. Is it because deep down we put some sort of faith that we’re being watched over by the One who created us. I’m not religious, but I always found stories about angels and their rebellion against God quite interesting. It’s the age-old tale of love, betrayal and redemption on a cosmic and divine scale. It’s from one such story that I find the latest “Scenes I Love”.

The film The Prophecy was one I had already reviewed a while back and whenever I come across it on cable I tend to drop whatever I’m doing and watch it. I go into much more detail why I enjoy this film very much in my review of it. This time I like to share one scene from the film that hints at just how much more epic this film could’ve been if it was a full-blown novel. It helps that the performance by Viggo Mortensen as Lucifer shows that even in 1995 he was already a great actor who hasn’t been discovered yet. While it’s deserving to say that Christopher Walken owned this film with his work in it I’d say Mortensen’s portrayal of The First Angel, The Morningstar and God’s Most Favored was something I wish a film could be made around.

Listen here, Maggott

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Viktor VonGlum

Had an idea for one of the most overlooked X-Men, Japheth aka Maggott. For those who never encountered the character, he was created by Scott Lobdell & Joe Madureira. He appeared around the same time as the Magneto clone, Joseph. He had a history with the real Magneto, “Erik” freed the slugs from Japheth’s body and revealed that he was a mutant. He served as an X-Man after the Zero Tolerance event and he was demoted to Generation X after Hank McCoy suggested that he needs more training. He was eventually captured by a reformed Weapon X program and murdered in the Neverland death camp, resurrected as magical techno-organic zombie during the Necrosha event, and apparently teaches at the Jean Grey School

He was billed for having the strangest mutant powers ever! His digestive system manifested as twin biomechanical slugs that exited his abdomen to consume and returned when their meal was over. They transferred energy to him, changing his skin blue & granting him superhuman strength. He also possessed psychometry and it allows him to draw psychic residue from his environment. The slugs were sensitive to magic and mystical energy. His main weakness was, he couldn’t be separated from the slugs too long or he would starve.

My idea involves Mojo and particularly Spiral and her Body Shoppé. Mojo sees great rating potential in Japheth but he believes that he first needs a makeover. Spiral abducts him, modifies him based on Mojo’s orders, and dumps him in the Savage Land. His slugs (the slug experimented on by Nathaniel Essex and the remaining one) were integrated on a molecular level and dispersed throughout his body. His mutant digestive system had evolved into a tactile consumption aura. Japheth can now feed through touch. His stomach cavity contains a biomechanical battery that stores the energy gained from eating and augments his enhanced state. He can expel the excess energy as a corrosive energy burst. His psychometry and the slugs’ sensitivity to magic grew to the point of Parker’s ESP.

Pusher Man Returns (only in my head)

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Viktor VonGlum

I have been toying around with Pusher Man reintroduction ideas.

**Those who haven’t read Brian K. Vaughan’s Runaways should skip this, it contains spoilers**

The Pusher Man was a drug dealer that sold MGH, mutant growth hormones. Mutant Growth Hormones is a drug that granted normal human superhuman abilities (usually based on the donor’s ability) or amplifies a posthuman’s super power. He also possesses a pair of gloves derived from the Fistigons. Fistigons are a pair of mechanical gauntlets created by the Steins; they allowed the user to project and manipulate flames. The Steins were a part of the Pride, a powerful criminal organization that had dominated the West Coast. The LAPD were in their pocket & no super villain or evil entity dared enter California. PM was fooled into believing the Pride was recruiting him by Chase Stein. His mistake resulted in his death at Kingpin’s order.

The first idea involves Pusher Man using Mr. Immortal-derived MGH before Kingpin’s goons arrived. It allowed him to survive the savage encounter. His damaged Fistigons were repaired and upgraded by former Atlas Corporation engineers. The gauntlets are bionic systems powered by designer MGH. The vials are integrated into the gloves and function as nanofactories. Raijin is a tetrawatt electrical projection. Brute is gravity field manipulation utilized to simulate superhuman strength. Sprite is molecular intangibility. Jotunn is gamma radiation enhanced size magnification. They also possess chameleon circuitry that allow them to replicate Stark’s repulsor beam technology, Von Doom’s shield system, and Death Head II’s bladed weapon.

The second idea involves the Pusher Man’s next of kin, Pusher Man II. PM II is the 17 year old cousin of the first who plans on avenging PM’s death and revolutionizing the MGH business. He developed a more potent form of MGH which he sells to criminal organizations like HYDRA and AIM for a greater profit. Pusher Man II installed a nanomachine failsafe in his MGH batch to prevent HYDRA and AIM from recreating his formula. He used his wealth to hire former Atlas Corporation engineers to construct an advanced version of the Fistigons. This version has the same functions as the one defined in the previous idea. The only differences are the dimensional storage device used to transport MGH shipments and the ability to transform into ring-like devices when inactive.

October Music Series: Muzsikás – Dunántúli Friss Csárdások

Posted on October 6, 2012 by necromoonyeti

Hungarian folk group Muzsikás have been around since 1973, but this song is much older. Dunántúli Friss Csárdások translates as “Transdanubian Fast Csárdás”, and “Csárdás” in turn refers to a Hungarian folk dance. It derives from an old Hungarian word for “tavern”.

It’s not always clear to me where exactly folk music comes from. Bands preserve it as best they can, but there aren’t exactly that many options for research. It’s not like we have a written record. What’s gone is gone. When the last village musician dies, hundreds, maybe thousands of years of musical tradition dies with him. With the aid of easy recording and generous grants, it is easy enough for what still remains today to be preserved (and more often than not exploited into that crime against culture we call ‘world music’), but at this point just how much is left? I don’t mean that to be rhetorical; I’d really like to know how modern folk and folk metal bands acquire their sources.

Dunántúli Friss Csárdások and the rest of the songs on this album are an exceptionally clear case. They result from the efforts of Béla Bartók (1881-1945), one of the earliest musicians to consciously recognize folk music’s peril and attempt to preserve it. Trained as a classical musician, from 1904 on he set his focus on Eastern European folk, not only transcribing it and incorporating it into his classical compositions, but also making over 1000 actual recordings, mostly between 1906 and the start of the war. A random example will more likely than not yield a bland 10 seconds of someone talking or humming, but after listening to twenty or so I found one that really impressed me:

Does Dunántúli Friss Csárdások and the rest of the Muzsikás album derive from one of Bartók’s field recordings, or from one of his original compositions based upon them? That I’m not sure about, but one could always just ask the band. Frankly I think it might be a bit more fun to dig through the full collection of Bartók recordings looking for them.