Monthly Archives: September 2019

Secret Morgue 2: Alien Autopsy Edition

This past Saturday was the second Secret Morgue a marathon of horror film presented at the theater in the ComicCon Museum by Film Geeks San Diego. Last year the theme of the marathon was VHS horror, films of the 70s and 80s that you may have discovered at your local video rental store back when that was a thing. This year’s theme was SF horror with an emphasis on aliens. As has become the tradition the selection is film presented is kept secret with the schedule providing a chronology that gives the starts and stop films of each film and the breaks for snacks but no titles. (The running times did allow me to eliminate the possibility that one of the films would be Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires.)

In order of presentation here are the films that were screened.

 

The Space Children

The Hidden

XTRO

Night of the Comet

Without Warning

I Come in Peace

Galaxy of Terror

 

There was a bonus feature but I simply could not muster the energy for that and left after the end of the seven-feature run. Of the films in the marathon I had previously seen two of them, The Space Children  and Galaxy of Terror  and the rest were known to me but for various reason had remained outside of my personal viewing history. This is a departure from last year’s run when I had seen none of the films screened. Of the film I think Night of the Comet  was likely the best made and the most entertaining while Without Warning  proved to be a chore to endure and I could not recommend it to anyone at all.

The food/snacks this year included a buffet of Indian Food, Pizza, and bakery bread with some green sauce that I did not try.

I adore Film geeks San Diego and everything they do to expand interesting cinema experiences in my town and I am looking forward to next year’s Secret morgue with its theme of ‘The Undead.’

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Sometimes You Should Look Back

The other night I was thinking about a failed novel I wrote several years earlier. The thought was perhaps I could go back re-read the manuscript and approach the idea fresh and see if I could write a new version absent the flaws that had been exposed at its beta read.

The first shocker was the dates on the files. Nine Years? Really? Where had the time gotten?

Okay it’s been awhile, onto reading the first scene of that novel. (It was late and bed was fast approaching. Anyway a part of my brain did recognize that this behavior was mostly avoidance because a shiny new project is always more alluring than the pick and spade work of any current Work In progress.)

Okay, that opening scene is far beyond my currently level of craft.

It wasn’t terrible, so there is that, but it was fatally flawed in its prose execution.

There’s danger when you look at a historical piece of your own art that the lack of competence will damage your confidence in your present works. After all at the time I wrote the novel and invited others to beta read it I thought I had performed decently and I think I am doing so my current projects. Am I as deluded now as I was then?

In some ways absolutely.

Artists are often the worse judges of their own material, simultaneously blind to some faults and hyper aware of others. This is why feedback is vital. Good, honest, and constructive feedback is the super serum that lifts our mediocre efforts into competent works.

However there is a flip side to the self-blindness and that is it can make it difficult to see the progress we have actually achieved.

The flaws in the prose in that novel from 2010 also are an indication of the progression I have reached. In that time I have, in gamer lingo, leveled up several times since writing that manuscript. The characters, the concepts, and the setting of the novel are all still quite compelling to me and if I choose to attempt it again the prose will be substantially better.

I am not depressed by the awfulness of that earlier work I am energized by how easily I can see it and the numerous ideas for how to do it better.

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Streaming Review: The Unknown Soldier

Over the past two nights, my sweetie-wife and me watched the Finnish film The Unknown Soldier  a three-hour epic that follows the operations of a machine gun company from the start to the end to The Continuation War. That was, started in 1941 with Finland invading the Soviet Union in hope of regaining territory lost in 1939’s Winter War when the Soviets invaded Finland. Allied with Nazi Germany the Fins expected a collapse of the communist state and for a ‘greater Finland’ to emerge; history of course tells us that did not come to pass.

The film boasts a large cast of characters as we meet the machine gun company just as they have finished their training and the invasion of the USSR has commenced. Released in 2017 The Unknown Soldier  does not glorify warfare but presents it in a stark unforgiving manner in which death is sudden, violent, and often unexpected. While the characters are devoted to their nation, filled with pride and patriotism, the script never devolves into jingoism and hero worship and instead focuses on the day-to-day reality of warfare in a small unit. Early victories buoy the characters’ moods but do not last as the invasion at first falters, stagnates, and eventually collapses into retreat and route. On the directorial front I particularly liked that Aku Louhimies maintained a line of direction for the invasion itself with motion from left to right indicating Eastward and into the Soviet Union and right to left indicating westward and retreat; fast shots of the company marching quickly established the current state of the war. The filmmakers avoided easy clichés for the characters and kept them complex with something difficult and contradictory motivations; they never ceased to be people  first and soldiers second.

The Unknown Soldier is currently available for rent as a streamed film on Amazon.

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The Delicate Balance of Character Death in Sequels

Over several nights this week, and I am still not finished I have been watching Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th. The documentary covers the entire span of the iconic slasher/horror film franchise and has a running time that is close the seven hours. I am a movie buff and while I have seen a few of the Friday the 13th  installments I am by far not an engaged fan of the series but I adore learning about films and their production.

Adrienne King who played final girl Alice in the initial film spoke about how many fans reacted badly to her characters quick and unceremonious death in the following sequel and my thoughts instantly flashed to Alien 3  and how the characters of Hicks and Newt were also cruelly dispatched simply to make way for the next batch of Purina Alien Chow.

Sequels are already tricky things to manage. People loved the first story and want more, deviate too wildly from the established tone and elements of that instigating tale and people will feel cheated, that they did not get what was promised on the tine, but hew too closely to the original plot and structure and people will be bored as you simply repeat the original with mere cosmetic changes. What Friday the 13th Part 2  and Alien 3 exemplify is the dangers of ignores the audiences emotional investment in the previous episodes. A story, prose or cinematic, succeeds when the audience become emotionally invested in the fate of the characters. This is particularly true in films where the conclusion presents few surviving characters of which horror films excel. Alice in Friday the 13th  is the ‘final girl’ and her survival is the emotional heartbeat of the movie, giving the audience its catharsis and exhilaration with the story climax. People are excited by her survival after attaching their fears to her for the run of the film. Alice matters. But her off-hand death at the start of the next film is an unintentional swipe at the audience. It is calling them suckers for caring about Alice, or Hicks and Newt for that matter, because all of that drama and tension and terror were meaningless. Those cruel and thoughtless character deaths invalidate all of the emotional toil and payoff of the previous franchise installments.

Does this mean you can’t kill surviving characters in the following sequels? No, of course not. What it means is that a sequel needs to be very careful in which characters fall and the manner in which they fall. Off-handedly removing character simply to make room for new ones is disrespectful to the audiences and their deep emotional attachments. If a character that survived an earlier episode must appear and die in a sequel then that death must be important to the plot and development of the story and it must be driven by the character’s choices. It need not be a ‘heroic’ death, though that is a clear option but it must not be a death that could have been filled by a stand in. Remember that sequel have a carry over emotional effect, the audience are in a heightened state filled with the memories of beloved characters in dramatic tension do not disrespect them.

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Scriptnotes and Thoughts on my Career Path

I adore HBO’s limited series Chernobyl  and its associated podcast of the same name with the writer and show runner Craig Mazin explores the crafting of the show and where it deviates from the historical record. That podcast led me to Mazin’s other Podcast Scriptnotes  where he co-hosts where fellow screen scribe John August about screen writing and things interesting to screenwriters.

There had been a time in my life where I really wanted to be a screenwriter and director. Movies are a passion of mine and I adore all the aspect of cinema. This weekend I will spend 13 hours watching a marathon of SF themed horror film as part of a local cinema group’s annual celebration. My novel coming out in March 2020 Vulcan’s Forge  is not only a celebration of film noir  in prose but stuffed to its hairline with references to some of my favorite films. However, listening to Scriptnotes  I think I have learned that being a professional screenwriter may not have been for me.

Where there are lots of books about how to write screenplays and what the form of the material is like there are few recourses that can give you a real look at what the life of a screenwriter is really like, Scriptnotes  is one of those rare resources. In addition to excellent advise on character, conflict, and constructing scenes, John and Craig climb down into the muddy trenches of dealing with contracts, producers, the Guild, studios, and set realistic expectations for aspiring talent just what the business is going to expect of them. What dismayed me was the amount of work a professional screenwriter does that is being a ‘gun for hire.’ How often a person will work on projects that they did not start, did not conceive, and are expected to create and polish into gem stones as glittering as their own projects. Certainly spec scripts, that is a project that was written without a contract and without the writer being hired to writer it, get produced but more often these scripts are used to open doors and gain employment as those hired guns and the films those scripts were written for never come into existence.

That has to be heartbreaking.

As a novelist I write a manuscript with every expectation that it will be a novel. For my preferences the ideal outcome is a traditionally published novel where a publisher pays me an advance and I get the benefit of their entire production, advertising, and distribution enterprise but if need be in this digital age I can publish the book myself. I do not need to produce well-polished dreams that are likely to be discarded so I can chase work on material I did not create.

Perhaps one of my novels will eventually be sold and made into a film and then I may writer the screenplay. I think I have a real talent for that form, but as a career, I think that screenwriter would have been a poor fit.

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The Candidates Three?

Odds are, but it is not certain, that the Democratic nominee for next year’s presidential contest will be one of the leading three candidates currently leading in the primary. While it is possible one of them will suddenly self-destruct and be replaced with a lower tier candidate, with each passing debate and fund raising quarter it grows increasingly unlikely. So we’re looking at the nominee being Biden, Warren, or Sanders and each represents a fundamentally different approach to the current political situation.

Biden is the conventional wisdom and ‘return to normalcy’ candidate. His approach is to treat the environment as an aberration and that a return to the past is not only preferable but also possible. Bi-partisanship and norm following would be the focus of his potential administration making him popular with risk adverse and older Democratic voters.

Sanders’ position that that the system itself is corrupt and must be swept aside to make room for the improved and golden future. It’s fitting that Sanders holds that position as he is not even a Democrat but rather officially is a Democratic-Socialist. Sanders is a revolutionary and promises a revolt making him popular among the disaffected, and the young.

Warren stands between these two extremes. The reformer Warren’s position is that the system is broken but that it can be repaired, that the old ways are flawed and that revolution is too extreme. It’s noteworthy that Warren isn’t afraid to label herself a ‘capitalist’ nor does she run from the fact that she was once a Republican. She appeals to those desperate for change but unwilling to commit to revolution.

Three candidates, three very different viewpoints on the troubles and the solutions it will be interesting to see which one prevails.

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Spider-Man, Macbeth, & Responsibilities

It is interesting to think about how characters are or are not responsible for the ills of their fictional world.

Central to Spider-Man’s character is the guilt he feels over the death of his beloved Uncle Ben. After Peter Parker had gained his powers that allow him to become a super hero but before he accepted to corresponding responsibilities, he sought enrichment and glory by using those magical abilities in entertainment. And when he stood by refusing to become involved in a robbery allowing the culprit to escape, he set into motion a chain of events that resulted in the same culprit robbing, shooting, and murdering Peter’s Uncle’s Ben. In the second motion picture directed by Sam Rami Peter confesses to his aunt that he, Peter, is responsible for Ben murder and that is something that has always rankled me.

Yes, Peter should have done something. Yes, Peter’s inaction set up the conditions that allowed the criminal to escape and thus the conditions that eventually allowed the criminal to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong motivations that resulted in Ben murder.

However, Peter is not responsible for that murder. Peter did not pull that trigger; Peter did not make the decision to shoot. Only the gunman is responsible  for shooting. My feelings on the matter have always been settled ground to me.

Yet, things feel different when I contemplate my favorite play Macbeth.

It is Macbeth’s hand to wields the dagger, it is Macbeth’s choice to murder his King and Kin, it is Macbeth uses the throne of Scotland to ignite a reign of terror that sparks open rebellion and invasion and still I can’t shake the sensation that responsibility somehow lies with the unnamed witches.

Without the supernatural meddling by the witches, making pronouncement of the future that are accurate of ultimately misleading, would have Macbeth ever taken any action against his royal cousin? If the witches can know which grain will grow and which will not then must they also know that speaking that future to Macbeth that place him on the path that ultimately leads to his doom? Are they the inversion of Avengers: Endgame knowing that if they speak the future to Macbeth that unlike Strange certain that his prediction will destroy its possibilities their will ensure it? If that is the case how do you divide responsibility between the Witches and their future meddling and Macbeth free will to choice his destructive path?

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Nonsense Nomenclature

Recently the San Francisco Board of Supervisors officially proclaimed something that has been a common cry for Gun Control activists that the National Rifle Association is a ‘Domestic Terrorist Organization.’ This is absurd when shouted by protesters and idiotic when made as an official statement from supposedly cooler heads.

Terrorism is the use of force with the principle intent of utilizing fear to affect a political process. Certainly some of the cowardly mass murderers were terrorists, slaughtering helpless people at worship, while shopping because of racist and bigoted ideologies, particularly to ignite a ‘race war’ is terrorism. It is also true that the ideology behind it is a terroristic one, without hopeless odds to induce their twisted bigoted beliefs through the political process, no matter the recent successes of blatantly racist politicians and candidates, the ‘radicalization’ of angry young men continue to generate these cowardly murders.

However, that is a long way from the NRA being itself a terrorist organization.

A player, though its powerhouse days may be behind it, in the American political process, the NRA has never sanctioned, endorsed, or encouraged any of the mass murders. The NRA, its endorsements, and its financial contributions have serous impact on the political landscape seriously undercutting any reasonable attempt to define it as a ‘terrorist’ organization.

Labeling the NRA a terrorist organization is not reasonable but it is understandable.

While the NRA has not in any way encouraged or endorsed these murderous attacks it has displayed a callous indifference. Offering nothing more than the empty phrase ‘thoughts and prayers’ while pointing accusing fingers at video games the NRA stubbornly refuses to take any action to prevent these evil acts giving the impression that no amount of bloodshed or pain can ever matter more than their own narrowly defined self interest.

This heartless inaction, in my opinion, will, in the end, cause greater harm to the organization’s goal and objectives than any minor or modest legislative compromise. As I have argued before eventually a cultural tipping point will be reached, a like a dam bursting, the flood that follows will wash away everything that came before. I think it is instructive that in the 2018 election cycle the Democratic Party did not run and hide from a solid stance in favor of more gun control. The old collations have passed away and in this delicate time new ones are forming. Trump harms the Republican’s ability to reach beyond their core base with the college educated and far less devoted suburbs already fleeing to the Democratic party just new cycle of re-districting is about to be begin. The 2020 election will impact the next decade and the dam may already be bursting.

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Movie Review: Official Secrets

Playing in a limited run throughout the United States Gavin Hood’s drama Official Secrets  starring Kiera Knightly and Ralph Fiennes the story is inspired by actual events surrounding the United Kingdom’s skullduggery in the lead up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Knightly plays Katherine Gunn a language translator working for the GCHQ, Government Communication Head Quarters the heart of British signals intelligence where Gunn translates foreign language communications by suspected enemies of the United Kingdom. As the United States attempts to obtain a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing an invasion of Iraq, Gunn’s department is directed to intercept personal communications of ambassadors on the Security Council in order to provide leverage for the United States to ‘convince’ the Ambassadors to support the invasion. In other words hoping to find blackmail material to rig the vote. Faced with such maleficence leaks the memo running afoul of the UK’s ‘Official Secrets Act’ and when the press, through the actions of journalist Martin Bright played by Matt Smith, publishes the memo an intensive investigation for the source of the breach is launched threatening Gunn with decades in prison.

Official Secrets  is Hood’s second foray into politically charged controversial cinema, following up on his masterful film Eye in the Sky  that used a fictional operation to crack open the complex morality surrounding drone warfare. Hood’s approach in Eye was even handed, presenting the complexities of combat where stark right and wrong often evaporates in the fog of war.  In Official Secrets  there are few shades of grey but that could be my own viewpoint coloring my opinion as I was staunchly against the invasion and firmly support that idea of whistleblowers that expose governmental misdeeds. What I can say is that the film is excellent in every regard, the writing, the directing, the acting, all create a reality that is tense, taunt, and never overblown. There is a temptation in drama inspired by actual events to heighten the action, meaning figures in the dark, high-speed chases down airport runways, to think that action is required for stakes and that is a misplaced concern. Official Secrets  opens with Gunn having to enter her plea and when the film return to that moment there is no doubt about the enormous stakes that rest on her answer.

I can fully recommend this movie to anyone who’s entranced by superior dramatic fiction.

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Streaming Review: The Void

Released in 2017 to a limited theatrical run The Void is a modestly budgeted cosmic horror film set in a rural besieged hospital.

Daniel Carter is a sheriff’s deputy in a small rural community when late one evening while on patrol his discovers an injured man, bloodied and disorientated on an isolated back road. He takes the men to the closest hospital, one that is in the process of closing down after a fire devastated most of the building leaving the facility this night with a skeleton staff and only one patient already admitted. Daniel’s wife Allison works at the hospital as a nurse and though they are not estranged it is clear a tragedy haunts their relationship. Before long Daniel, Allison, and the small collection of characters are besieged when masked cultists willing to murder anyone who attempts to flee the building surround the hospital. Strangely, the cultists seem uninterested in invading the facility and it quickly becomes apparent that the real horror is already inside the hospital.

Avoiding second tier digital imagery and boasting practical creature effects The Void  makes the most of its limited budget. Inspired by but not based upon the works of H.P. Lovecraft, this film starts itself grounded in a real and recognizable world before sliding into a scenario of monsters, madness, and unimaginable horrors from beyond. Competently acted and directed the film is not perfect but works overall as an entertaining horror movie that is perfectly willing to leave questions unanswered and matters to audience interpretation. While there is plenty of gore and injury effects the heart of this movie is about loss and how loss transforms us into people we may have little understanding of. There is a slight cinematic trope of ignoring serious injury after a few scenes but overall the movie is fast paces, enjoyable and for fans horror well worth their time.

The Voidis currently streaming on the horror service Shudder.

 

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