4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, we pay tribute to the amazing Dario Argento! It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Dario Argento Films
Deep Red (1975, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Luigi Kuveiller )
Suspiria (1977, dir by Dario Argento,DP: Luciano Tovoli )
Inferno (1980, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Romano Albani )
Dracula 3D (2012, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Luciano Tovoli )
Well, we’re nearly done with October and, traditionally, this is when all of us in the Shattered Lens Bunker gather in front of the television in Arleigh’s penthouse suite, eat popcorn, drink diet coke, and gossip about whoever has the day off.
Of course, after we do that, I duck back into my office and I watch the classic 1962 film, Carnival of Souls!
Reportedly, David Lynch is a huge fan of Carnival of Souls and, when you watch the film, it’s easy to see why. The film follows a somewhat odd woman (played, in her one and only starring role, by Candace Hilligoss) who, after a car accident, is haunted by visions of ghostly figures. This dream-like film was independently produced and distributed. At the time, it didn’t get much attention but it has since been recognized as a classic and very influential horror film.
This was director Herk Harvey’s only feature film. Before and after making this film, he specialized in making educational and industrial shorts (some of which we’ve watched on this very site), the type of films that encouraged students not to cheat on tests and employees not to take their jobs for granted. Harvey also appears in this film, playing “The Man” who haunts Hilligoss as she travels across the country.
Doc Bowman here with a very special holiday message!
Tomorrow is Halloween, which my owners — the flame-haired one and the nice one — says is the greatest time of the year! It’s the time when kids get candy, horror movies are on TV, and my owners get to play dress up or, if it’s anything like last year, barely get dressed at all.
But it’s also a time when stupid people do bad things. I’m a black cat so both the flame-haired and the nice-one say that I’m not going to be allowed go outside at all tomorrow. They say it doesn’t matter how much I beg, I’m staying inside. I know they’re doing the right thing but I’m still going to beg and knock things off of tables and counters because I’m a cat and that’s what I do. And they’re going to hopefully give me a lot of treats and pet me to keep me happy, even though they’ll probably have to lock me in the flame-haired one’s room to keep me from running for the front door every time they open it for a trick or treater. That’s just the way thing go at the cat’s house.
Tomorrow night, please make sure that all your pets are safely inside. It may sound like a silly concern but not everyone out there is as nice and wonderful as my owners and the people who read this site!
Tonight, for our horror on the lens, we have the twenty-first episode of the 2nd season of Friday the 13th: The Series!
In tonight’s episode, Jack and Ryan are out of town so Micki takes it upon herself to recover a cursed pool cue. Helping her out is Johnny (played by Steven Monarque), who would eventually become a regular in the third season after John D. LeMay left the show. I like this episode because Micki is at the center of the action. I relate to Micki, though I don’t believe in cursed antiques. That’s a good thing because we’ve got a lot of antiques around here.
I can imagine the pitch sessions for Spiral: From The Book Saw.
“What do people really like the Saw movies?”
“The Jigsaw Killer!”
“Right! So let’s make a Saw movie without the Jigsaw Killer. What else do people like about the Saw movies?”
“The gory but clever torture scenes!”
“Right! So, let’s only have a few torture scenes that are gory but not particularly clever. What else would make this a good Saw film?”
“A star in the leading role!”
“Right! So, let’s cast a comedian who is a notoriously terrible actor.”
“YAY!”
Anyway, Spiral features Chris Rock as a hard-boiled homicide detective who spends almost the entire movie with a scowl on his face. He does make a few jokes but they’re all of the “This is a New Jack city!” variety. Rock is living in the shadow of his wildly popular police chief father, played by Samuel L. Jackson. Rock is a tough cop who does things HIS WAY! And he can’t trust anyone else on the force because he’s just so honest.
Spiral does not feature Tobin Bell, though we do briefly see a picture of him when someone mentions that the latest round of murders seem like they may have been committed by a Jigsaw copycat. The thing with copycats is who cares? They can’t even come up with an original idea. They have to copy another killer. I mean, there’s a lot of movies about killers in the woods but people remain loyal to Jason Voorhees because he was the original. Just like with Halloween. Every reboot, except for the third one, has featured Michael because without Michael, who cares? You can lose everyone else but Michael, and how people react specifically to Michal, is what the franchise revolves around. So, with Saw, if Jigsaw is not there …. WHO CARES!?
Listen, I don’t even like the Saw movies but even I was annoyed by this film’s lack of Jigsaw.
Anyway, it’s a dumb movie. It tries for a bit of political relevancy by making almost all of the victims crooked cops but it’s like Defund Copycat Serial Killers, not the police. Chris Rock and his new partner are investigating all the murders and Rock tries so hard to give a convincing performance that it becomes painful to watch. Seriously, if you’re good at comedy, do comedy. Be proud of it because a lot of people are not good at comedy. If playing a dramatic character is that much of a struggle for you, don’t do it. That’s why we’ve got actors like …. uhmmm, that guy who was in that really dramatic movie, whatever it was called. It was really good and dramatic. He would have been good for the lead in Spiral. Actually, Ethan Hawke would have been good as the lead too. Or maybe Denzel Washington. But good luck getting them to agree to be in a Saw movie that doesn’t feature Tobin Bell.
Anyway, Spiral was pretty disappointing. Chris Rock is funny and likable in comedies so maybe that’s what he should stick with for now. Leave the dramatic crime stuff to the cast of the latest Dick Wolf show, y’know? And if there is another Saw movie, Jigsaw better come back to life because otherwise, what’s the point?
The first episode of The Martian Chronicles ended with a dying Jeff Spender (Bernie Casey) warning John Wilder (Rock Hudson) that humans settling on Mars would be the worst thing that could ever happen to the once powerful red planet.
The second episode, called The Settlers, sets about to prove Spender right. By 2004, humans are desperately leaving the war-torn Earth for a new home on Mars. They rename all of the Martian landmarks, honoring the men who died exploring the planet. In one of the few deliberately funny moments of this entire miniseries, it’s revealed that the canal that Briggs threw his beer cans in was eventually named Briggs Canal. There’s one unfortunate shot of a line of miniature space ships that are supposed to be orbiting Mars and waiting for their chance to land. The episode then gets down to showing what the settlers do to Mars.
It’s nothing good. The main town looks like a traveling carnival, full of bars and crime. Many of the people who come to Mars are people who are fleeing something on Earth and Col. Wilder has his hands full trying to keep the peace. All of the Martians are believed to be dead but it turns out that there are still a few out there. Using their mental powers, they disguise themselves as humans. A large part of the second episode deals with a Martian who approached an elderly couple, disguised as their dead son. Even though they know that he’s not really their son, they allow him to live in their home. But, when the Martian goes to the city, he becomes overwhelmed by all the thoughts that bombard his mind. Everyone sees him as being someone that they care about. Even the local priest, Father Peregrine (Fritz Weaver), sees the Martian as being Jesus. (That’s no big deal today but that had to have been controversial in 1980.) Eventually, the Martian becomes so overwhelmed that he dies while a group of humans gawk at him.
As for Father Peregrine and Father Stone (Roddy McDowall, who spent most of his later years appearing in miniseries like this one), they explore the Martian mountains, searching for three lights that have been reported as hovering in the sky. When they find the lights, the lights explain that they are ancient Martians who long ago abandoned their corporeal bodies. They also somewhat implausibly say that they worship the same God as the two priests. In a departure from Bradbury’s original short stories (in which Bradbury was skeptical about the idea of bringing religion to the Mars), Father Peregrine commits to building a church so that, even on the Red Planet, people can worship.
Finally, Sam Parkhill (Darren McGavin) has achieved his dream of building a restaurant on Mars. He says that, as soon as more Earthlings arrive, he’ll be rich because every trucker will stop off at his place for a bite to eat. When a Martian suddenly shows up in the diner, Parkhill panics and shoots him. When more Martians show up, Parkhill flees. It’s only when the Martians catch up to him does he learn that they’re giving him a grant for half the land on Mars. “Tonight’s the night,” they tell him, “Prepare.” Old Sam Parkhill’s pretty excited until he looks through a space telescope and sees that Earth, the home of his future customers, is now glowing with the sure sign of nuclear fire. I can’t remember how old I was when I first saw this episode on late night Baltimore TV but I do remember being thoroughly freaked out by the scene where Sam watches as a fiery glow encircles the Earth and the planet’s green surface turns brown. It’s the most powerful moment in the miniseries and a fitting visualization of Bradbury’s concerns about the nuclear age.
As for the rest of The Settlers, it’s good but it’s not as strong or as cohesive as the first episode. The Martin shapeshifter story is good but the two priests in the mountains felt like they were included to keep religious viewers happy and their segment takes too many liberties with Bradbury’s original material. Then, Darren McGavin returns to the story. dressed like a cowboy and getting chased by a Martian sandship and The Martian Chronicles goes back to being one of the coolest miniseries to ever be broadcast.
With Earth dead, would Mars follow? That was the theme of the next episode of The Martian Chronicles, which we’ll look at tomorrow.
Some games just aren’t going to be for everyone and that’s definitely the case with Universal Hologram, a Twine game where you live in a Martian colony and you learn how to astral project. Astral projection leads to some wild dreams but it also leads to the discovery that you are living in a simulation. It’s a long game, one that is more concerned with philosophy than it is with its plot. Each action and decision is a chance for the game’s characters to discuss man’s place in the universe and the nature of reality. If that’s your thing, you’re going to enjoy the game’s mix of the profane and the profound. If you’re not into it and just looking for something more straightforward, you may get frustrated with Universal Hologram‘s deliberately enigmatic narrative.
Myself, though, I enjoyed it. Twine games, by their nature, are best used for games that are like short stories with occasional choices as opposed o traditional puzzle-solving Interactive Fiction. Twine games, above all else, reward good writing and Universal Hologram is very well-written. Mars, the simulation, and the eccentric characters all come to life. The game also includes computer-generated visuals, the better to put you into a dream state. That the game is willing to risk alienating its players is one of the things that makes Universal Hologram stand out from so many other recent Interactive Fiction games. I like games that take risks.
Through the Shattered Lens 