This movie is based on a British comic-book that started before a lot of you were born, so I’m sick of hearing about how it’s so “derivative”. The concepts, look and character have influenced Road Warrior, Bladerunner, RoboCop, and hundreds of other movies. And so, now that they’ve gotten around to the real thing, they make the traditional Hollywood choice when adapting a successful work from another medium – they change it! Continue reading
Abel Ferarra’s latest film The Addiction is the third black & white vampire movie to be released (that I’ve seen) in 1995. All three are low budget East coast productions, all three are about female vampires, and all three have ironically been publicized as “a different kind of vampire tale”. I have no idea what caused this sudden wave of monochromatic nosferatresses – when a whole crop of, say, Christopher Columbus biopics comes out of Hollywood, it’s usually because all the big studios read the same script at once, rejected it, then swiped the idea. But that’s not the case with these smaller productions. It may just be because vampires are the hot monster topic of the past 10 years. Much more popular than killer mutant apes – which is why Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Interview With the Vampire were big hits at the box office while Congo got dissed. Vampires are everywhere you look these days, a whole subculture. I remember a young woman telling me about her comic-book a few years ago, which was all about rock star vampires. When I made a reference to Anne Rice, she said she’d never heard of her. Maybe she was lying, but it could well be that the subject is so pervasive that similar ideas are bound to crop up.
All I know is that there’ll be a classic triple feature at every Gothic Video Festival for the next few years.
The first bat out of the bag was The Girl With Hungry Eyes (not to be confused with William Rotsler’s 1960s sleazefest). This stylishly-lensed story hailed from well known Gothic capitol, Miami, and was about how a girl owned a ritzy hotel in the ’30s, committed suicide in one of the rooms, then returned as a vampire/photo model in the ’90s. There seems to be some connection between her blood drinking and the restoration of the hotel, as if the spirit of the hotel was merged with her own, but the movie never explains how. It also doesn’t explain why she didn’t return earlier, before the hotel got in such a rundown condition, and why she hooks up with a lowlife Cuban pin-up photographer.
The second release, Nadja, was much more successful, perhaps because the filmmakers understand that audiences like to be entertained at the theater. Nadja is an outright (and unauthorized) remake of Universal’s 1936 classic Dracula’s Daughter. The plot concerns the exploits of the spawn of old Drac and an unlucky peasant girl, who moves to New York City to get away from her overbearing father. After Papa gets staked by a Van Helsing (in an amusingly eccentric performance by Peter Fonda), Nadja tries to break her curse of bloodlust. When she fails, she instead tries to seduce a companion for herself, at which point Fonda and his nephew (the victim’s hubby) go to the rescue. The constantly changing atmosphere – sometimes things are played straight, sometimes darkly comic – keeps the pace lively. This oddball entry is definitely worth checking out. (One sore point: at the screening I attended, the film was occasionally gauzy and out of focus. At first I thought it may have been intentional – , but later suspected an inattentive projectionist. I’ve yet to determine which is the case, but it sure was annoying.)
The third and best of this terror trilogy has Ferrara once again making the most of his favorite crumbling NYC locations. Lili Taylor stars as a post-graduate student trying to finish her thesis, thereby doing her part to meet this county’s growing need for Doctors of Philosophy. One night, a strange woman drags her into an alley and bites her on the neck. Afterwards, she feels ill and can’t abide much sunlight. Increasingly, food loses any meaning for her, while people start to look like food. Craving blood, she prowls the streets looking for victims to steal it from – first by using a syringe on derelicts, later by ever more savage attacks with her teeth. An older vampire (Christopher Walken, who now has a growing following for his frequent appearances in cult and horror films), gives her some refuge and teaches her how to survive and control her addiction – at least until she gets her degree.
Many of Ferrara’s films play with the idea of victims who become predators, often paying a high price for the exchange. In Driller Killer, a loser becomes a serial killer. In Ms. 45, a mute rape victim gets her hands on her attacker’s gun and starts hunting men. In Body Snatchers, your closest, safest friend could become a deadly alien enemy. The Addiction presents his most focused examination of the subject to date. Though Taylor is afflicted with vampirism, blood is not necessarily what she craves – it could have been cocaine, heroine, nicotine, caffeine, fishing, shopping, or collecting baseball cards. Ferrara is really using an extreme format to deal with the subject of addiction as a whole – how the things that make us feel good and in control can take control of us, and make us feel worse than we’ve ever imagined.
Taylor begins the film by expressing passionate outrage at wartime atrocities. When her addiction forces her to become a predator herself, she rationalizes it by blaming the victim’s vulnerability. When a victim puts up some resistance, she attacks anyway, and switches to a new rationalization. Walken’s character becomes her mentor in Blood Anonymous, teaching her to take control of her “problem”. It works, but it turns out that it’s not just the blood she craves.
The university setting works a touch of dark comedy into the proceedings. Screenwriter Nicholas St. John has given Taylor and her companions pages and pages of brain-itching dialogue full of long-haired literary reference and kaleidoscoping philosophical ranting while they wander through grim hallways and threatening streets out of Sartre’s worst nightmares. Most of it sails right over the heads of the audience – at least I hope it does – and it often threatens to turn the whole wretched affair into Alice’s mad tea party.
Despite the more impressive pedigrees of all involved, the photography here is weaker than in our other two features. Although it achieves the intended levels of grim menace and oppressive claustrophobia, the black and white images are often so gloomy that it becomes difficult to see anything at all. This may be the rare case of a b/w film that would have benefited from a little color, especially during the horrific, blood-drenched climax. Scenes of vampires wiping black blood from their chins distracted me with thoughts of yummy chocolate syrup (which was no doubt what was really used).
While all of Ferrara’s films contain worthwhile elements, his last few features were sorely lacking in one way or another. Body Snatchers leaned toward the predictably commercial, while The Bad Lieutenant was overlong and dreadfully self-indulgent. The Addiction stands up as a movie that rarely loses its grip – a triumph for the talented Taylor and a solid win for Ferrara. Perhaps, as the film suggests, redemption is available for all of us.
Vampires never scare me. Well, I should never say never; there are a few exceptions: Max Schreck from the original Nosferatu with his rat-like neck, bald head, and long bony fingers, or the horrible grinning Lon Chaney in London After Midnight, who I had only seen in surviving stills from the film in Famous Monsters, and, as a child, quickly passed by while leafing through the magazine so as not to let the hideous image burn too deep in my brain and give me nightmares. But it was more the grotesque images of those bloodsuckers that scared me, not the fact they, indeed, sucked blood. That’s why I didn’t expect the new film based on Anne Rice’s best selling Interview With The Vampire to scare me. It didn’t. Don’t get me wrong – it is a good film, not great, good. But I liked it, and recommend it. Continue reading
Way back in 1931, Universal movie moguls gathered together to decide who would play the monster in the film Frankenstein. By deciding to choose a relative unknown, they passed up publicity that such a choice would make in order to keep the audience from looking through the make-up at the actor. They even went as far as to disguise Boris Karloff’s name in the film credits and original ads so that the audience would go along with the film. Sixty three years later, the moguls’ thinking has been proven correct. I do not believe for one second that Robert De Niro is the monster in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, and that ends up undermining the entire film. Continue reading
It’s not very often that a film put chills up and down my spine. That visceral feeling was all over Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, from Jack Nicholson’s chilling and psychotic performance to the Big Wheel point-of-view shots in the hallways. For me, that’s the raison d’êtré, the basis for spending two hours in a dark auditorium watching images flicker on a rectangular screen. That feeling is simply your body’s response, on a purely instinctual level, to seeing a shot or a scene that is perfectly executed. You may not know a thing about lighting or story structure or acting, but you recognize the filmmakers’ skill in presenting the narrative. And now with Peter Jackson’s film Heavenly Creatures, we have another reason to celebrate film and that feeling. Continue reading
OUT OF THE DARKNESS
by Michael Flores
The myths about film director DARIO ARGENTO are growing every year. Fan publications publish as fact stories about him that are untrue, which are then repeated and enhanced as they pass into the film community. What is true about him is his vision-a unique, stylish approach to murder and mayhem. To the casual viewer, he is known as the co-writer and producer of George Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD. His film SUSPIRIA, perhaps the most fascinating horror film of the 1970’s, continues to win over audiences with its brutal elegance. Even those repulsed by the violent shocks in his films are drawn to his visual rhythms as his camera floats through cinematic space.
Many of his films are butchered upon release. The grand guignol TENEBRAE was slashed into incoherence by distributors and released as UNSANE. The extreme color effects of SUSPIRIA were toned down even in the so-called “uncensored” version released by Magnum video, leaving collectors to search down Japanese versions for the definitive edition, until recently when deluxe laserdisc editions were finally released in the USA.
Yet once you see his films, INFERNO, TENEBRAE, PHENOMENON (CREEPERS), TWO EVIL EYES, DEEP RED, TRAUMA, SUSPIRIA, OPERA, and THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, it’s guaranteed you’ll begin searching down his films.
Dario Argento was in Chicago to be honored by the Film Center of the Art Institute. He was staying at the Swiss Hotel and my good friend Pat Schenning (whose photography, computer skills and cooking of the sacred desserts I can only envy. Rock bands called her when they came to town to get her chocolate chip cookies and banana bread [from Anthrax to The Mission]). We entered the formidable hotel about 15 minutes early. I looked around the lobby and noticed more blondes than I think you could find in the entire downtown area.
We headed for the bar to down drinks before the interview and chomp on the bowls of mixed nuts that adorn the bar. I made a mental note to stop in next time I was downtown to grab a brew and observe the scenery. It was soft on the eyes.
Pat and I prepared for the interview by dishing the dirt on ourselves and others. I
resolved to talk to Dario about the myriad of rumors about him and subject matter that fan boys would never ask him. We headed up to his suite and were greeted by Mr. Argento. Thin, dark haired and smiling from ear to ear, he welcomed us in.
[Note: this interview took place in 1990, before the release of TRAUMA and THE STENDAHL SYNDROME]
THERE ARE SO MANY RUMORS ABOUT YOU IN THIS COUNTRY, LET’S BEGIN BY ASKING YOU IF YOU STARTED IN FILMS BY WRITING NUDIE FILMS.
Argento: No! I don’t know where these stories come from. Never!
HAVE YOU RETIRED FROM MAKING HORROR FILMS?
Argento: A British writer started that one. Absolutely not. I’m working in America right now on a new one. He wrote I retired and magazines began repeating it. (Laughter) I’m not retired!
SO, LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR WORK WITH SERGIO LEONE.
Argento: I learned much from him. I worked as a writer with BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI on ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST and other films. Sergio was a great director. He almost never gave his actors hand holding scene direction that bad actors demand.You got a general idea of the character and the camera did the rest. He taught me that the camera became your eye. You see the scene and the people in it and examine the frame. He taught me to use the camera as my eye.
I want to see everything in the picture. If there is a desk, I want to see what’s
on it. Everything in the shot must have a purpose, so I want to see it. (Dario rises from his chair and motions around the room). Some people would focus in on the actor but look around this room. The table, the chairs, the things on the table. I let the camera take all that in. I learned that from Sergio Leone. My time working with him was very good.
HOW DID YOU GET TO GO FROM SCREENWRITING TO DIRECTING?
Argento: Believe it or not, when I did the script to THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, I wrote that I was to be the director on the first page. No one questioned it! I was glad I wrote that down! In those days it was easier to do than now. Now it’s more difficult.
DID YOU ENJOY DOING YOUR FIRST FILM?
Argento: No. I had hired an actor, Tony Muscante, who seemed pleasant to begin with, but I hated working with him. He was trained in theatre and would be waiting to ask me questions every day. I hated it. We didn’t get along. Difficult. Very difficult. Why am I doing this or that. All the time. (Dario rolls his eyes) After a time I hated going to the set. I wanted the film to be over. He still works in theatre.
YOU HAVE OFTEN COMPARED FILMMAKING WITH GOING TO WAR, AND WAR CHANGES PEOPLE. WHICH FILM HAD THE MOST IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE?
Argento: SUSPIRIA. Without question. When I finished the film I bought a gun and went to a hotel room for 2 or 3 days. I thought about killing myself.
BUT THAT’S CONSIDERED YOUR GREATEST FILM!
Argento: Some call it my masterpiece. My wife walked out on me and the set of the film the first day. It was all down hill from there. Troubles. Troubles from complicated shots, troubles in my life.
If I had to do it all over again I wouldn’t do it. Every film has an impact, every
project. SUSPIRIA was a disaster until it reached the screen. (Laughter). Maybe because it was about witches! When I finished it I wanted to die. I was never so depressed in my life. I sat in the hotel room alone. Trying to decide.
HOW DID YOU COME OUT OF IT?
Argento: I don’t know. It just passed.
DID YOU MEET ANY WITCHES AS A RESULT OF THE FILM?
Argento: No. Never have. I’ve met people who say they have studied it or claimed to be witches, but I’ve met no one with supernatural abilities or powers. I’d like to. (Laughter)
IF YOU WERE TOLD THAT YOU COULD DO A FILM AS EXPERIMENTAL AND GROUND-BREAKING AS SUSPIRIA AGAIN, BUT THAT YOU’D HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PAIN AGAIN…
Argento: I wouldn’t do it! No. (Laughter) No, never. Every film or creative project influences your life. SUSPIRIA was devastating.
THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT FOR THE HORROR GENRE. WHY DO YOU THINK WE ARE SEEING A RESURGENCE NOW?
Argento: I have been through this before. Horror follows cycles. When people are optimistic and want happy endings, that is what kind of film gets distribution. People expected great change with government here, I think they are now more cynical. When they are cynical they are more open to violence, death, antiheroes and horror. The optimistic comic book violence is replaced by more realism in the violence depicted.
WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITES OF THE FILMS YOU HAVE DONE?
Argento: Tenebrae. I really liked the craziness of it.
THAT WAS CUT HERE AND RELEASED UNDER THE TITLE UNSANE.
Argento: The scene most cut around the world is when the womans’ arm is cut off and the blood goes all over the white walls like a hose shooting blood! (Laughter) I like this scene. the camera on the second girl victim is also cut. Some distributors hate sequences when the camera moves through space. Oliver Stone got away with it a lot in Natural Born Killers, I think it will open the door to more violence.
HOW DO YOU LIKE WORKING IN AMERICA?
Argento: It’s good. I was shooting in Minnesota. I enjoyed it. The name of my new film is Stendahl Syndrome, which I’m doing here. Every city I go to I visit the museum and look at the art. The title is a real syndrome some people have. They look at a painting or a sculpture and it affects them emotionally.
It is a famous syndrome. Stendahl wrote of it. So did Freud. Some painting or sculpture will shake them up. They will actually hallucinate off of them. That is my next American movie.
I SAW A FASHION SHOW YOU DID FOR THE HOUSE OF KRIZIA.
Argento: Oh my God-how did you see that? Where?
WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ITALIAN FILM INDUSTRY?
Argento: No relation really. I wanted to experiment. The models usually come out and walk around. Then they leave. I wanted to tell a story. Covering morning, noon and night.
It was on Italian television. Then it was cut and shown as a five minute commercial. The audience went crazy and gave me a standing ovation. Articles in the fashion magazines and newspapers. Then they went right back to the runway walk. (Laughter)
IT WAS A SCARY SHOW WITH RAIN AND LIGHTENING. IT WAS WONDERFUL.
Argento: I cast the models from schools. I told them I did not want professional models, because they look too aloof and try not to show emotion. So I cast every person in the show. I think it scared the regular models. (Laughter) They were afraid actors might replace them!
It took a week to cast, but only three days to rehearse and do. Most runway shows take a day to put together. I think it shows.(Laughter)
YOU OFTEN CAST FAMILY MEMBERS IN YOUR FILMS. FIORE ARGENTO AND ASIA ARGENTO COME TO MIND.
Argento: I think it’s been good. Asia is a great actress, very, very good. She is in other films too.
ARE YOU GOING TO USE COMPUTER ANIMATION IN STENDAHL’S SYNDROME?
Argento: Yes. I want to see how I can change the paintings. This is my third feature in America; next film I return to Europe. I’ve also been reading a Japanese book so I’d like to do a film in Japan.
I KNOW JENNIFER CONNALLY WAS IN ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST AS A CHILD, A FILM YOU COLLABORATED WITH BERTOLLUCCI ON. THEN SHE SHOWED UP YEARS LATER IN PHENOMENON (KNOWN IN THE STATES AS CREEPERS), I REALLY THINK SHE IS A STRONG PRES-ENCE.
Yes. I enjoyed working with her. She was good in Career Opportunities and The
Rocketeer, but the movies weren’t so good. She’s a pleasure to work with.
SHE HAS DEVELOPED A TERRIFIC BODY OVER THE YEARS AS WELL.
Argento: (Laughter) Uh, yes.
Back in the summer of 1993, David “the Rock” Nelson met Conrad Brooks at a horror convention. Brooks (born Conrad Biedrzycki) was there to promote his career based on his association with the (then) upcoming Ed Wood movie. Rocky was there to pass out flyers, sell some tapes and enjoy his newfound status as “Ed Wood of the ’90s”. The two hit it off and somehow Nelson convinced Brooks to appear in his next camcorder monster movie.
It’s ironic, in a way. The way I remember it, Conrad started his acting career as the
first “producer” to hire Ed Wood. Back in the late ’40s, Connie and his brothers Ted and Henry went west from their home town of Baltimore to visit Hollywood, where they met Wood. The brothers wanted Ed to shoot some home movies for them to show the folks back home. Ed leaped at the chance to ‘direct’, and soon had everyone acting out little cowboy skits for the camera. This eventually led to Wood’s short feature / TV pilot Crossroads Avenger. Brooks also held small parts in several Wood features. Continue reading
David “the Rock” Nelson knows what he likes: monster movies! And he likes his own monster movies more than any other. Heck, even the many characters he plays himself are fans of his movies. Here’s another collection of Nelson’s oddball no-budget hi-energy mess-terpieces. After some footage of Rocky boxing and other “behind the scenes” tidbits, we get to:
In the title epic, Nelson plays a mad suburbanite who thinks he’s an Egyptian high priest. This nut – twin brother of Detective Rock Nelson (Nelson) – has a real mummy sequestered in his backyard tomb/garage, and raises it from the dead to get
revenge his enemies and “show the world that you are here!” The mummy (Nelson) attacks the House of Nelson and many relatives and neighborhood acquaintances are killed. Det. Nelson is called in. He enlists the help of Andrew “Chief” Moritz and Janet-Lynne Okulanis, and together they battle the mummy with toy pistols, swords, ping-pong ball guns, smoke bombs, and pepper spray. Ramses himself would be pleased. 20m. Continue reading
