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Thursday, September 26, 2013

superlove

New music video for Charli XCX's single "SuperLove."

Familial bonds are spotlighted often in horror movies from Leatherface's clan in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to the mother and son relationships in Psycho and Friday the 13th. The movies sometimes sympathize with the wicked ways of its villains; after all blood is thicker than water. Jim Mickle's (Mulberry Street, Stake Land) gruesome new flick We Are What We Are (a remake of 2010's Mexican Somos lo que hay) is another horror movie of twisted family tradition. The Parkers are an odd, aloof and pale-faced crew, living in a drafty old house in a perpetually overcast, rain-soaked upstate New York small town. The film begins in a rainstorm (evocatively filmed in a bluish, but crisply defined wash; the bewitching photography is by Ryan Samul) with the accidental death of the matriarch. The strict father (an eerie and stalwart Bill Sage) and his two daughters (Julia Garner and Ambyr Childers) and young son (Jack Gore) mourn her loss in their own stifled ways while attempting to carry on with their bizarre ritualistic behavior without her. Meanwhile nosy neighbor Marge (a hilariously campy and frumped-up Kelly McGillis), police and town Doc Barrow (a steely and beguiling Michael Parks) begin uncovering what horrifying activities the Parkers have been up to.

Set in a remote-feeling drab environment, the attention to details is what gives We Are What We Are a distinctive and heightened look. The production design by Russell Barnes and set decoration by Daniel Kersting shows the quaint existence of the Parkers with slightly askew, grimy and stylized settings. Throughout, the film reveals little details (old radios, TVs, record players, kitchen utensils) of various eras as the torrents of rain and flooding slowly unearth the family's dark secrets. The costumes by Liz Vastola and excellent hair-styling (by Cynthia Vanis), especially of the two girls, are sort of Victorian and pent-up and evangelical-goth. When Garner lets down her tight, tied up braids into a sort of breathtaking (especially for her character) curly blonde bob, we see the sudden change in Rose from a scared, oppressed child to a quietly feisty, more in-control young adult.

Like many horror films, the movie skewers authority (doddering deputies) and religion. With some particular heavy religious imagery and symbolism, the film wrestles with themes like nature versus nurturing and whether or not one can ever break free of what they are taught--an idea explicitly expressed in the film's title and inherent in the story's subject matter. Mickle notes, "Religions often become corrupt from the places where they began. People often have an incredible blind faith that drives them to do things simply because they've done it before, without ever really thinking about it... It was interesting to explore, how something could actually convince you to do something so horrid. But if you grew up with it, and it's the only thing you've ever known, and the people you trust are telling you that's the way that it is, is that all that much crazier than any religion?"

Despite the obvious technical strengths of the film, its macabre beauty and the appealing, salt-of-the-earth performances by the players, I think the film could have moved a couple beats faster especially since the film's lurking mystery becomes quite obvious quickly. Also a dash more humor here and there could help, especially since the somber first half of the movie is so lethargic and dour. As she did in the too lugubrious fright flick The Innkeepers, the underused McGillis adds some much-needed camp and fun. Once Doc Barrow (Parks) is on to things, the proceedings pick up, escalating into a nicely brutal and garishly bloody finish. I loved the film's sunrise coda as well. I definitely wasn't in the mood to eat anything afterwards. ***

-Jeffery Berg

art by kwangho shin

via KwangHo Shin

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

the remixed mother we share

So the new CHVRCHES album is burning up right now.

Here's a groovy (and free!) remix by Moon Boots of "The Mother We Share."

And here's two free songs from Moon Boots. Enjoy!

to stepford we go by karen g.

We’ve all had that moment – fleeting or no – where we decided we’ve had it with life in the big, bad city and that the only thing to make ALL our problems go away, is a fresh start in a quaint little town, somewhere not too far away.

Director Bryan Forbes’ 1975 cult classic, The Stepford Wives, brings Ira Levin’s novel to life in this extremely unconventional horror movie. At first you’re not even sure why it’s billed as a horror movie, but stay for the ride, the eerie journey soon makes you realize why this movie works so well.
When Joanna Eberhart (Katharine Ross) and her husband move away from the grit and crime of the city, she soon finds that she is bored to death by the picturesque conformity of Stepford. She finds a kindred spirit in Bobbie Markowe (Paula Prentiss) and soon starts to bear life in the quiet, little town. They also befriend another newcomer, Charmaine, who is also settling into her new life.

At first, Stepford is exactly as it seems, provincial and safe. There is however, “The Stepford Men’s Association” where no are women allowed. Also, the women of Stepford are only interested in cleaning products, cooking, and looking perfect for their husbands. Joanna is baffled as to why her husband insists on spending time at the Men’s Association, especially with the stodgy president of the club, a computer and electronics expert who used to work at Disneyland.

When Charmaine – a self-proclaimed lover of tennis, has her tennis court bulldozed and, confesses that she has been selfish in wanting to devote her time to tennis when there is so much housework and cooking to do – Bobbie realizes that something is very wrong in the town of Stepford.

This is not your standard horror by any means and some may find the pacing of the film excessively slow, however, it serves a dramatic purpose. Bobbie’s slow realizations about the people of Stepford allow us to immerse ourselves into her persona, as it might be with us when we discover and realize new things. The social satire of the movie and the idea that the perfect wife needs to wear heels, bake cookies and wait for her husband to return from the office works remarkably well in 1975 America when the Women’s Liberation Movement was in full swing.

There might be a long wait but the twist ending and effectively creepy final scene is worth the wait. The entire movie is bathed in sunshine and vibrant colors while veiling the strangely dark subject matter within. Katharine Ross and Paula Prentiss offer remarkably entertaining performances which move the film even during the slower moments.

This one is definitely worth a rewatch (or a first watch) especially for us city dwellers who believe the grass is greener on the other side. With a little reprogramming, who knows, maybe it is.

-Karen G.