Welcome to October on the Shattered Lens!
Here’s hoping this month finds you with joy, family, friends, fiends, ghouls, and ghosts!
Today is also the start of the Shattered Les’s annual horrorthon! Sit back, enjoy the reviews, the art, and the music videos, and have a great month of ghoulish fun!
by Erin Nicole
I took this picture a few years ago, on a foggy October morning. Usually, this is a normal-looking neighborhood but, on that morning, it looked creepy so I had to get out there with my camera and get some pictures of it all. We had many mornings like this that October. We’ll probably have even more this October.
On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.
The 67th video to make its MTV premiere on August 1st was one of the videos that Kate Bush did for Wuthering Heights. There’s actually two videos for this song, each featuring similar choreography. One version features Kate dressed in a white dress and dancing in a mist-filled room. The other version features Kate in a red dress and dancing in a grassy area. In both videos, the suggestion is that Kate Bush is playing a ghost, which makes either version of Wuthering Heights a good video to start October with.
Both videos have their fans and I’m not sure which one was first played on MTV. But I’m going to go with the video of Kate dressed in white because it was the first of the two videos to be released and it was specifically made for the UK. Produced three years before the premiere of MTV, this video is considered to be one of the most influential ever made and it helped to show that music videos could be more than just simple performance clips.
Enjoy!
The First Videos Shown on MTV:
Artist Unknown
With Halloween is right around the corner and the annual TSL Horrorthon starting tomorrow. this just feels like the right cover for today. Unfortunately, the identities of both the artist and the ghost are not known.
As opposed to what we’ve previously seen since the start of the 11th season, this week’s episode of The Walking Dead focused on multiple storylines.
At the Satellite Outpost, Negan and Maggie continued to argue about whether or not anyone else in their party would be smart, lucky, or brave enough to join them. At this point, Maggie and Negan pretty much sound like an old married couple and, considering the chemistry between Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, that could very well be what they end up becoming by the time the show ends. Sorry, Glenn! Anyway, this time Maggie won the argument because Gabriel and Elijah eventually showed up and proved that people could be depended upon. Yay, Maggie! Unfortunately, if Gabriel’s the best you go, you probably have bigger problems to deal with than just a philosophical disagreement.
At Alexandria, Judith tried to keep the other kids from taunting the Walkers and potentially getting everyone killed. Judith had a point but seriously, no one likes a snitch.
Aaron, Carol, Lydia, and Jerry returned to the ruins of Hilltop on a supply run. It turned out that Hilltop was also being used as a home by the last surviving Whisperers! Their leader, Keith, insisted that the Whisperers were no longer a threat. Aaron didn’t quite buy that and he wanted to torture and then kill Keith. Fortunately, Carol talked him out of it. Keith lost an arm but he got to keep his life. And he also told them where Connie’s hiding! Now, of course, is where I should remind our readers that, until the start of this season, I hadn’t really watched the show since Carl died so I’m not exactly sure who Connie is. But I guess I’ll soon find out.
Meanwhile, at the Commonwealth, Eugene and the crew got to watch a really neat presentation on VHS tape that welcomed them into the community. Eugene then went for a walk with Stephanie and nearly screwed everything up when he broke into the radio room and tried to contact Alexandria! Or did he? See, my theory is that the Commonwealth is still setting Eugene up. They’re manipulating him to reveal everything that he knows about Alexandria but they’re doing it in a way that makes it seem as if they actually don’t want to know anything about Alexandria. They’re manipulating him into contacting Alexandria by pretending like it’s something they don’t want him to do. It’s all very clever and it’s the type of thing that Eugene always seems to fall for, despite the fact that he’s the smartest guy on the show.
This week’s episode, which was directed by Greg Nicotero, was a definite improvement over the past few episodes. I liked the fact that it focused on several different groups, as opposed to getting bogged down with one repetitive storyline. I liked that it revisited the Whisperers and showed that, as far as they were concerned, they were the heroes and the Alexandrians were the villains. (The show has always been at its best when it has acknowledged that even the bad guys are just scared, lonely, and trying to survive the end of the world.) The Judith subplot was handled well and showed that some things — like obnoxious children –are never going to change.
Mostly, though, I just liked the Commonwealth stuff. From the minute I saw that introduction on the VHS tape, I was all about the Commonwealth. The intro may have looked cheap and all the happy scenes were obviously staged but, seriously, it’s easy to see why some people would find it appealing after spending years fighting other humans and trying to avoid Walkers. I loved the way the tape went from celebrating community to celebrating “security.” It felt very relevant to our current times, a true libertarian’s nightmare. You want to have ice cream and watch your kids play? Then you’ve got to accept the legion of armored men watching everything that you do. And, as always, I loved the oddball intensity of Josh McDermitt in the role of Eugene. I would seriously watch a spin-off that was just Eugene going to different communities and voicing his disappointment with their life choices.
This was a good episode, one that took a look at how different communities are trying to find some sort of normalcy in the face of the zombie apocalypse. The remains of the Whisperers are just scrounging to survive. Alexandria is trying to balance the needs of the collective with the need of every human being to be an individual. And the Commonwealth is living in denial, embracing the myth that random chaos can be controlled by strictly enforced order.
I’m looking forward to seeing where things to go. After a few weak episodes, The Walking Dead might be able to reclaim some of its lost narrative momentum. Here’s hoping!
I was up at Lake Texoma this weekend so I missed the latest episode of The Walking Dead when it originally aired. I did, however, set the DVR for it. I came back from the lake on Tuesday of this week and while I was eager to watch most of the shows that I had recorded, I really couldn’t summon up much enthusiasm for The Walking Dead. For the show’s first four or five seasons, The Walking Dead is what I would have immediately watched but, eleven seasons in, the show no longer holds the promise of the unexpected. Instead, it has settled down into a comfortable pattern.
Earlier today, when I finally did get around to watching Rendition, it all felt very, very familiar. Once again, Darryl ended up wandering off on his own Once again, Darryl ended up getting captured and tortured by the latest group of evil humans, The Reapers. We learned a little about Reaper culture but, despite the whole religion angle, it turns out that the Reapers are just like every other group of evil humans who have shown up in the show. At this point, even Darryl should be wondering how the exact same thing can keep happing to the exact same guy.
(At first, I was going to say that this episode did change things up a bit by having one of Darryl’s ex-lovers turn out to be a Reaper. But then I remembered that Darryl’s brother turned up at the Governor’s prison and that was actually a lot more impressive because Darryl’s brother actually had a definable personality of sorts. He came across as being something more than just a plot point.)
The gimmick with The Reapers is that, before the zombie apocalypse, they served in Afghanistan and they’re now ultra-religious. That does explain why the Reaper from last week was so happy to see Gabriel and so insistent that Gabriel pray for him. It also explain why the leader of the Reapers is named Pope, even though that seems more than a bit heavy-handed on the part of the writers. But who knows? Maybe this story arc will actually give Gabriel something to do other than glare at everyone with his one good eye. One can only hope. Watching this episode, it was hard not to contrast Gabriel’s cry of, “There is no God here!” to Pope’s request (or was it a demand) that Daryl believe in the Reapers’ version of God.
That said, this episode felt way too familiar. It was well-acted and competently directed and all of that but it still felt a bit too safe for an episode during the final season of a show that, regardless of what it may be now, was once a pop cultural juggernaut. If you’re like me and you’re hoping things will go out with not just a bang but with a few hundred bangs, it’s impossible not to be disappointed with this season so far. Let’s hope things pick up and we actually do get the type of finale that The Walking Dead deserves!
James Wan’s newest horror film, Malignant is something that really needs to be seen without any prior input on it. If there’s any way you can watch it – whether you see it in theatres or on HBO Max up until October 10th – It’s definitely worth it. Right after watching it, I contacted my cousin and begged her to watch it without moviepooping it. She never watches a movie without already knowing the outcome – who lives, who dies. If she doesn’t, the anxiety that hits her is great. She twitches in her chair, covers her face, screams and gives every reaction you to hope to experience in a movie theatre. She agreed to do so, and I can’t wait to hear her thoughts on this. I’m almost compelled to head out to a theatre, sit in the back and watch the audience.
You’re better off not reading this and just coming back later, after you’ve seen it. I’ll try not to give too much away.
When I think of popular couples in horror, the first one that comes to mind is Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel. James Wan & his wife, Ingrid Bisu may be joining that group. Along with screenwriter Akela Cooper (The 100), the three writers provide Malignant with enough jumps and mouth covers for me to enjoy the ride. Is it perfect? No. It might actually be offensive and/or triggering to a few people, depending on what they’re going through in life, but every movie has the capacity to do that without realizing it.
When mother to be Madison (Annabelle Wallis, Annabelle) suffers an injury, she begins to have visions of a figure causing murders. Much like Neil Jordan’s In Dreams, Madison visions give her a tie to the killer, who may be someone from her past. With the police involved in the form of Agent Kekoa Shaw (George Young, Containment) and his partner, Regina Moss (Michole Briana White, She Hate Me), they work with Annabelle to pursue the killer.
Malignant has it’s share of great shots. There’s one wonderful overhead sequence that takes place which reminded me a little of Minority Report, along with Wan’s usual work with lights and shadow. Smoky alleyways and barely lit hallways just add to Malignant’s creepiness. All of this is anchored by both Wallis’ performance, a mix of quiet tension and wide eyed horror, and by Maddie Hasson (Underdogs), who plays her sister Sidney. Sidney is the source of Malignant‘s more comedic quips, along with Ingrid Bisu, who plays the Forensic Investigator. The movie strikes a good balance there, I felt.
From a writing standpoint, there’s enough misdirection to keep the audience guessing, but it doesn’t do in a way that lies to them. On my 2nd viewing (I’m on my 3rd while writing this), the elements that seemed strange really do make sense. There’s also tidbits of humor placed throughout the movie. It doesn’t make it a comedy by any means, but it’s nice to be to chuckle once in a while. It does make one huge mistake (for me, anyway) that almost completely lost me early on, a conversation between sisters that made me wonder why such information wasn’t already known between them over all the time they knew each other. You’ll probably be able to recognize it when it occurs.
Malignant is a tight 1 hour and 51 minutes, but it’s paced so well that the film feels like it’s almost over before you know it. As much as I enjoyed it, that was one of the other problems I had with the film. Not a terrible thing in any way. It hooks you from the start, gives you some great jumps and reveals through the middle. The 2nd half of the movie kind of pushes the pedal to the floor and guns it. I can think of at least two films that Malignant references, but I’ll maybe write about them some other time.
Overall, Malignant is a great Halloween treat, with James Wan & Co. showing everyone how it’s done. It gets strange, but when all’s said and done, you’ll be thankful for the ride. Just go in blind, turn off all the lights, take it for what it is and enjoy.
Originally, Jeff and I were planning on going up to the lake this weekend.
It’s something that we’ve been wanting to do for a while, just to get away from everything for a day or two. It’s summer in Texas, which means that it’s incredibly hot right now. The lake is awfully inviting in the summer. Originally, we thought we might go last week but I ended up getting sick and spending almost the entire week in bed. So, it made sense to just go this week, right?
Except …. well, did you happen to notice what day it is today?
Listen, at heart, I’m a skeptical person. One reason why horror films don’t bother me is because I don’t believe in ghosts or witches or magic or zombies or death curses or any of that other stuff. I don’t even believe in aliens. I’m not a superstitious person and I have to admit that I always find myself a bit confused whenever I talk to anyone who is. And yet, even I know better than to tempt fate by going up to the lake on the weekend of Friday the 13th. That’s the power of the tale of Jason Voorhees, his mother, and a New Jersey camp called Crystal Lake. Even the most skeptical among us know better than to mess around with Jason. There’s a 99.9% chance that Jason doesn’t exist and, even if he did, he would be way up in New Jersey but still, just the fact that there’s a .1% chance that he might be out there somewhere …. that’s enough to keep me home for the weekend!
With that in mind, Happy Friday the 13th! I’m celebrating by watching the original films, the one that were produced by Paramount Pictures in the 80s. By that, I mean the films that came out before Jason Goes To Hell turned everyone’s favorite hockey masked serial killer into a space slug. Say what you will about these films, they are an undeniable part of our culture and they’re amongst the most influential movies ever made. Personally, I prefer the first film, the 2nd film, and the 4th film. I’ll also defend Friday The 13th: A New Beginning because I enjoy being a contrarian. At its best, the franchise was an American tribute to giallo. At its worst …. well, we’ve all seen Part 3, right?
However you celebrate, stay safe! And maybe we’ll see you up at the lake next week!
(And if you need something to do, be sure to check out this article, full of Friday the 13th trivia, that I wrote a few Friday the 13ths ago!)
The year is 1981 and Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, of course!) have just screwed up another exorcism. Only Ed hears as Arne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor) begs the demon that has possessed 8 year-old David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard) to enter him instead. Unfortunately, Ed also has a heart attack and passes out before he can tell Lorraine what has happened.
The next month, a hollow-eyed Arne is walking down a road. He’s just murdered his sleazy landlord, stabbing the man 22 times. It seems like an open-and-shut case, except for the fact that Arne claims that he was possessed by a demon and that it was the demon who actually committed the crime. At first Arne’s lawyer is planning to go for an insanity plea but then Ed and Lorraine invite her to come have dinner with them and to see their favorite doll, Annabelle. The film immediately cuts to Arne’s visibly shaken lawyer announcing to the court that her client pleads “not guilty by reason of demonic possession.”
It’s a funny scene and I was a little bit surprised to see it because, in the past, The Conjuring films have always been distinguished by how seriously they took themselves. The first two films both unfolded in atmospheres of growing dread, following families that not only had to deal with societal evolution but also with angry spirits. The first two Conjuring films worked not only as horror films but also as period pieces, as stories about changing times. Though Ed and Lorraine were always the main investigators, the first two films devoted as much time to exploring the dynamics of the haunted families as it did to portraying the Warrens.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (or, as we’ll call it in the interest of space, The Conjuring 3) takes a different approach, which I imagine has much to do with Michael Chaves directing the film instead of James Wan. This time, Arne and the possessed family all remain ciphers. We never learn much about who they are or who they were before they met the Warrens. We don’t know what Arne was like before he became possessed and, as such, it’s hard to get emotionally invested in him once he does end up with a demon inside of him.
Instead, the film emphasizes Ed and Lorraine Warren and their work to uncover the occultist who was behind the original possession. Ed worries about Lorraine as she has psychic visions and wanders around yet another dirty basement. Lorraine worries that Ed is going to give himself another heart attack as he hobbles through the woods in search of an evil spirit. Lorraine proves her powers to a skeptical detective. Ed complains that he doesn’t want people treating his wife’s abilities like a carnival sideshow but he still allows himself a slight smile when she selects the correct murder weapon. Of course, at one point, Suspicious Minds is heard on the radio and we briefly flashback to Patrick Wilson singing the song in The Conjuring 2. Once again, the film argues that Ed and Lorraine’s romance, their endless love, makes them uniquely capable of battling the Devil.
The film has its moments, largely because Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are adorable as Ed and Lorraine. At the same time, though, there’s a definite “greatest hits” feel to the third Conjuring film. There’s little about the film that feels truly spontaneous or surprising and most of the scenes feel like reworkings of scenes that worked in the previous two films. As good as Farmiga and Wilson are in their roles (and as much as I appreciate the idea of a Catholic super hero film franchise), Ed and Lorraine work best when they’re relating to and helping other characters. The Conjuring 3 often solely focuses on them and the end result often feels more like an Insidious sequel than a Conjuring film.
The Conjuring 3 is enjoyable enough. It gets the job done, while never reaching the emotional heights of the first two films. It has enough jump scares to be a fun movie to watch on a rainy night but it’s not one that really sticks in your mind after it ends.
To be honest, I’m probably being a bit too glib when I say that the fearsome blind kidnapper and murderer at the center of the original Don’t Breathe is now a hero. Though it appears that he’s now the hero based on what we see in the trailer for Don’t Breathe 2, it could just be a case where he’s a bad guy battling other bad guys.
At least, I hope that’s the case because, seriously, we all remember the turkey baster!
I really liked the first Don’t Breathe. I have to admit that I was kind of hoping that it would be one of those great thrillers that would never get a sequel because the first one pretty much worked because Stephen Lang’s character was a unique and unexpected villain. My feeling was that subsequent appearances by the character would only serve to make him less menacing. Though it looks like the film’s well-produced and Stephen Lang kicks all sorts of ass, the trailer for Don’t Breathe 2 still feels more like a sequel to Gran Torino than a sequel to the original Don’t Breathe. Let’s hope I’m wrong on that!
Don’t Breathe 2 will be released on August 13th, at which point we’ll see what’s going on.
Through the Shattered Lens 