Retro Shock Round-Up

Despite its avid and enduring fanbase, Dark Shadows never caught my interest, even as a kid, but yet several of producer/director Dan Curtis' other genre offerings indelibly shaped my childhood. With Dark Shadows currently in theaters, I decided to revisit one of my favorite Curtis efforts outside the gothic world of Collinwood, 1976's Burnt Offerings for this week's Retro Shock Theater column at Shock Till You Drop.

And for whatever reason, I forgot to link to the previous RST column, a look back at Romero and Argento's Edgar Allan Poe tag-team effort, 1990's Two Evil Eyes. I put my two mildly rascally eyes on that one in honor of the release of The Raven and just to chime in briefly on that movie - it was pretty awful.

Earth's Mightiest Movie

As much as possible in our internet-fueled age of animosity and polarized opinions, The Avengers has brought the famously prickly geek community as well as the generally diffident movie going public together in a unified cry of "this rocks!"

Yes, there's always contrarians out there and no movie is above criticism but The Avengers has elicited more of a positive consensus than any movie I can think of in recent (and even not-so-recent) memory. It's the right crowd-pleaser at the right time and writer/director Joss Whedon and his cast and crew can take a much-deserved bow for meeting impossibly high expectations with style.

Even though Whedon never shouldered a film as big as this, you wouldn't know it from watching how seamlessly he juggles The Avengers' large cast and sprawling action. In fact, I can't think of the last summer blockbuster that worked an audience into expressions of cheers, laughter, and applause as ably as this one does. I recall an interview with Whedon early on in The Avengers' production and he made a comment to the effect that while films that deconstructed the superhero genre were being seen as the next step in the genre's evolution, that he felt there hadn't been nearly enough really great, straight-forward superhero films yet - films that really deliver the kind of excitement found in comic books. And clearly The Avengers shows Whedon out to prove that point with a vengeance, leaving it hard to disagree that great comic book films - even in our cynical age - don't necessarily have to wallow in darkness.

They can actually be, you know, fun.

Calling The Avengers "fun", however, doesn't mean Whedon has shortchanged the Marvel heroes of their complexities. A large part of why The Avengers works is that Whedon writes each of the character's individual quirks and neuroses so well. These are characters who all have weak spots in their psyches and how they'll come together as a team - if they even can - is no simple matter.

The last forty minutes or so of The Avengers has been celebrated for its rousing action but I loved the early sections of the movie just as much for how well it depicted the difficulties these characters face in coming together. The moments where Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor, Black Widow, and Nick Fury (due to Loki's mental manipulations, Hawkeye is out of the main group until the later part of the film) are all verbally sparring, trying to advance their own agendas, and testing each other's moral mettle are pure Marvel.

To see these characters in close quarters on a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, getting their first taste of working with others as extraordinary as themselves, was just as thrilling to me as the many physical smackdowns peppered throughout the film. That said, those smackdowns are undeniably awesome. From the earliest days of Marvel Comics, their tumultuous heroes have brawled with each other nearly as much as with their enemies - whether due to mind control or misunderstandings - and The Avengers holds true to that tradition with almost every Avenger fighting each other at one point or another. As much as I've enjoyed the previous films from Marvel Studios (as well as many of the movies based on Marvel properties produced by other studios), The Avengers left me gobsmacked at how next level it is in bringing the full Marvel experience to life and how it opens up so many even bigger possibilties to come.

I've heard a few critical grumblings that this movie wasn't quite amibitious enough and that it took an artistically easy route and so on but boy, is that a misinformed opinion. Maybe because The Avengers came together so well, it's tempting to say now that it was an easy bet all along - just a no-brainer. But there was nothing easy or safe about the path that Marvel decided to take with their movie universe. Think about it - Warners and DC couldn't even make a successful franchise out of Green Lantern. So for Marvel to make characters like Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Captain America (none of which are easy sells) into successful cinematic properties in their own right and then bring them all together into one film - that's huge. It's enormously amibitious and completely unprecedented and credit must be given to all involved for making it work.

In closing, I'd like to take a look at a fanmade clip that's been making the rounds lately - a fanciful fake promo for a made-for-TV Avengers film in the '70s. In case you haven't seen it, here it is:



It's cute piece of work, a funny "What If?" (the title of one of my favorite Marvel series back in the day, by the way) but as someone who grew up on the substandard Marvel TV movies of the '70s and who saw the company struggle to bring their properties to the screen in the '80s and early '90s, I'm not interested in basking in nostalgia anymore for the days when fans had to settle for less - not when the future of the Marvel movie universe seems so limitless.

As the cry was often sounded to Marvel's readers: "Face front, True Believers!"

Marvel Movie Menagerie

Based on all the early reports, it's safe to say that Marvel's The Avengers is a victorious vindictation of the amibtious plans that were set in motion when Iron Man debuted in 2008. Back then, I think even the most opitmistic of fans were skeptical of whether a shared Marvel Movie Universe could be accomplished, much less with any great degree of quality control. With so much talent involved, so many different demands, so many different characters and storylines to juggle - it seemed to be impossible from a creative and logistical standpoint.

Additionally, from a commercial standpoint, it was difficult to imagine that the public would support solo features starring characters like Thor and Captain America that didn't share the same wide recognition factor as, say, Spider-Man.

In every way, Marvel was taking a chance and the potential for embarrassing failure was high. Had any of the Marvel movies on the road to The Avengers not clicked with audiences, it would've put the entire enterprise in jeopardy. But through a series of canny creative decisions they pulled it off. Even if every movie wasn't a four-star classic, all of them got it right where it counted - with casting and characterization.

On the eve (or almost eve, at least) of The Avengers' US release, before I can see for myself whether The Avengers stands above all others as THE Marvel movie, I wanted to give a fanboy shout-out to my favorite Marvel movies to date:

10. Hulk (2003)
Too artsy and willfully weird to be widely embraced, director Ang Lee's version of Marvel's Green Goliath is a fascinating fumble that contains too much bristling, bursting creativity to simply be dismissed out of hand. The heavy emphasis on Banner's tormented psyche and his massive daddy issues combined with pop art visuals that go for a full-on comic book look at times (complete with panel grids) make for a movie that makes the ambition level of most other comic book adaptations look puny.

9. X2 (2003)
The original X-Men (2000) has, sadly, not dated well. Even though that movie put Marvel's merry mutants on firm cinematic standing, it hasn't held up. The sequel, however, remains great. It's not much of a stretch to say that Batman Begins (2005) would not have been possible without the creative and commercial success of X2 laying the groundwork for a darker, more dramatic breed of superhero movie.

8. Punisher: War Zone (2008)
Some find the character of Frank Castle to be too one-note but I've always had a love for Marvel's kill-crazy anti-hero. You'd think that The Punisher's street level status, easily understood goals (kill all criminals), and lack of powers would make for an easy translation to the screen but while two previous attempts (from '89 and '04) had their merits, it wasn't until Punisher: War Zone that Castle finally got his blood-soaked cinematic due. While I liked both Dolph Lundgren and Thomas Jane as Castle, Ray Stevenson really made the role his own. In his full Punisher gear, he looks like a John Romita Jr. illustation come to life.

7. Iron Man (2008)
The movie that showed what could be possible if Marvel were in charge of their own character's adaptations. The casting of Robert Downey Jr. was sheer genius (I doubt if the movie would've succeeded with anyone else in the role of Tony Stark) and director Jon Favreau crafted a movie that ably matched Downey's wit, swagger and energy. The action in Iron Man is not much by modern blockbuster standards - it wasn't a film that was trying to out "wow" the competition - but the focus on character and story showed that action set pieces were not what was going to make or break a comic book film. It's an approach that Marvel has smartly stuck to in every movie under their banner since.

6. Spider-Man (2002)
With Spidey being my favorite hero ever since I first encountered him on The Electric Company, the idea of seeing the web-slinger in a big budget feature film directed by Sam Raimi seemed too good to be true. But despite a couple of quibbles (like the organic webshooters), the movie absolutely lived up to my enormous expectations. Tobey Maquire made for an ideal Peter Parker and Raimi's love of the character - and his love of the comic book medium itself - shines brightly. I also love William Dafoe's wonderfully hammy performance as The Green Goblin. Some may continue to gripe about the controversial (in geek circles, at least) look of the Goblin's costume but I think it works and, hey, when you have great GG moments of pure villainy like the Goblin exploding the wall out of Aunt May's bedroom while the frail old lady is on her knees praying - can't you live without him sporting a purple purse and boots?

5. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Some consider Cap to be too square to enjoy him as a character but I love his unwavering moral fortitude. You're never going to see Steve Rogers delve into his dark side and that's fine because there's more than enough characters out there to suffer those kind of conflicts. While I love my share of anti-heroes, I also love the purity of a guy like Steve Rogers. It's hard to sell a clean-cut character like that to a cynical world but this movie works terrifically and setting it during WWII was definitely the way to go - the only way to properly portray Cap's old-fashioned world-view. Director Joe Johnston hit all the rights notes of nostaligia and heroism and while some felt that the film's final act wasn't fully satisfying, as a comic fan already aware of Cap's frozen fate and modern day unthawing I thought it worked just fine.

4. X-Men: First Class (2011)
I really didn't expect anything out of this film other than for it to suck. It was a silly idea (come on - did the X-Men really need a prequel?), populated with mostly C-list mutants, and every early still from the movie looked ridiculous. What a surprise then, to discover what a great movie it was - better than any previous X-film, in fact.

3. Blade (1998)
As much as Bryan Singer's X-Men is credited as kicking off the Marvel movie age, it's really Blade that put Marvel on the path to where they stand today, cinematically. Director Stephen Norrington and writer David Goyer took a C-list character who never had his own title (Blade did have his own book eventually but I think only after the success of the movie - previously I believe he was only a supporting character in Tomb of Dracula) and delivered a hit movie. A hit movie that was an equally impressive creative achievement as well - a mix of kung fu, horror, and blaxploitation filtered through a cutting edge sensibility. The first sequel, helmed by Guillermo del Toro, was solid but lacked the dramatic heft and creative funkiness of the original.

2. The Incredible Hulk (1977)
Technically, this isn't a movie but rather a TV movie but hey, it played in theaters overseas so I'll count it. This pilot film for the popular and long-running Hulk TV series is just a brilliant piece of work and its affecting sense of pathos has not diminished a bit in over thirty years. Writer/director Ken Johnson was not a student of comics but he certainly understood the drama and tragedy inherent in Bruce Banner's Jekyll and Hyde struggle. Johnson updated the Hulk's origin story wonderfully - taking it out of the atomic age trappings that would've dated it and putting into much more relatable terms. Here, Dr. David Banner (the "Bruce" being relegated to middle name status) is tormented by the death of his wife in a car crash. He can't understand why some people in times of great strain have been able to call on superhuman reserves of strength but that he was helpless to free his wife from their wrecked car before it exploded. Frustrated, he experiments on himself and after mistakenly overdosing on gamma radiation, in times of anger he transforms into a raging Hulk. Both Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno were perfectly cast in their respective roles of Banner and The Hulk and I defy anyone to not tear up at Banner's graveside goodbye that concludes this classic.

1. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Raimi's first Spidey sequel is the perfect distillation of what makes Peter Parker the flagship hero of the Marvel Universe. Raimi and co. got the angst and the action just right - highlighting the mix of triumph and tragedy that has defined Spider-Man's adventures from the start. I do wish that Doctor Octopus had been as evil as his comic book counterpart but even as a more sympathetic Ock, Alfred Molina plays the part well and to see Spidey's eight-limbed adversary in live action is a spectacular sight - especially during the extended fight aboard an elevated train that may stand as the greatest single action scene in any comic book adaptation.

It'd take a lot for any Marvel adaptation to knock this one out of my #1 slot but if any film could do it, it'd have to be The Avengers. That, or Ghost Rider 3.

The Horror Film To End All Horror Films?

For a good chunk of The Cabin In The Woods' running time I had the sinking feeling that this much-hyped film just wasn't going to meet my expectations. I wasn't disliking what I was seeing but yet I wasn't quite loving it either. It was full of clever dialogue and as events unfolded the film wasn't suffering for any lack of intelligence but yet I wasn't fully pulled in. I felt that the level of genre commentary in Joss Whedon and director Drew Goddard's script was more glib than trenchant. But at a certain point, that changed and The Cabin In The Woods became pretty much everything I was hoping for and then some. I don't know if it ever got any deeper (maybe a notch more clever) but it sure got a lot more gonzo and that was enough for me.

I hesitate to get into any spoilers so early into Cabin's (hopefully long lasting) run but suffice it to say, this movie is well worth any horror fan's time. My advice would be to avoid any further articles or reviews and just go see it with as little advance knowledge as possible. I almost wish that the marketing hadn't given away the fact that there's an outside group at work in the film but as it's something that's revealed as soon as the movie begins it's hard to call it a spoiler. There's no real twists per se to be revealed but there is a sense of surprise as the story escalates that should be preserved.

On the downside, the scare factor isn't very high at all (some might even call it non-existent), which is a slight disappointment, but by the climax I'm betting that most fans will feel there's been ample compensation for the lack of full-on terror. I know I left satisfied, at least. In interviews, Whedon described Cabin in grand terms of being "the horror film to end all horror films" and while no such beast will ever exist, Whedon and Goddard clearly had a ball trying to create it. If only every filmmaker working in the genre could show as much love and enthusiasm for it.

Bloodsucking Freaks

I really didn't intend to be away for so long but here it is over a month (!) since my last post. Sorry for the extended absence but everyday life takes precedence. And, really, all demands on my time aside I also didn't feel I had much to talk about lately. Not about horror films at least as I've been spending most of my time reading comics and watching '70s-era Dr. Who.

Coming back, I'd like to mention a new column that just kicked off at Shock Till You Drop called Retro Shock Theater. It's exactly what it sounds like, a retrospective feature on various fright flicks - ones that will typically be thematically tied in to a current release. The inaugural column, for example, is devoted to one of my favorite "cabin in the woods" films , 1993's Ticks, just as The Cabin In The Woods finally hits theaters. Sadly, I believe that Ticks continues to be MIA on DVD - hopefully that'll change one of these days as it's an easy-to-like creature feature that deserves to be seen by more fans.

Anyhow, that covers it for now but expect another new post real soon - about as quickly as it takes me to see The Cabin In The Woods.

Sounding Off About Silent House

Remakes are a hot button topic with horror fans. Even though remakes have been a part of the fabric of genre filmmaking for forever and a day, the announcement of another remake typically provokes a heated response. And it's not just about classic being remade - some of the most heated reactions happen when Hollywood remakes a foreign film within a year or so of the original's release. The main point of contention being that remaking a foreign film right out of the gate rather than giving the original a chance to find an audience on its own in the US sends the message that studios cater to lazy American audiences who can't be bothered to read subtitles.

For some reason, though, any fanboy outrage over remaking the 2010 Uruguayan film La Casa Muda has been minimal. Maybe because the original has not caught on as a fan favorite in the way that, say, [REC] had by the time its US remake Quarantine was put into production. It's not a badge of coolness to like Silent House so there's not much consternation over the remake.

I haven't watched the original Silent House and, honestly, having watched the remake I don't plan on making the time to do so (another complaint against remakes, by the way - they discourage viewers from discovering the original). It's not that I hated Silent House, just that I suspect that the remake didn't veer from from the source material and another trip through the same story just doesn't appeal to me.

The main hook of Silent House is that it's presented in one continuous take. Of course there are edits throughout the film but they're invisible, done in moments where the film is in black. It's a stunt that's been done before - most famously in Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948) and genre fans might also remember the Bruce Campbell starring Running Time (1997), directed by Evil Dead alumni Josh Becker - but whenever it's done, it's always an impressive technical feat. Not just for the coordinated efforts of the behind the scenes crew but for any actor who has to stay on screen for the duration of the film.

Whatever faults might be found in Silent House (and we'll get to them momentarily), the central performance of Elizabeth Olsen as Sarah isn't one of them. Olsen recently received a heap of praise for her role in last year's Martha Marcy May Marlene and while that film has been on my "to see" list for awhile, it's now rocketed to the top of my "must see" list thanks to seeing her in action in Silent House.

Olsen really gives an impressive performance here in a role that is short on dialogue but requires her to run the gamut of emotion. It's a classic Scream Queen performance in that the film resembles the Final Chase of a slasher movie with Olsen almost continually on the run from an unknown assailant stalking her and her father (Adam Trese) and uncle (Eric Sheffer Stevens) within the walls of her family's old lakeside home as they prep the long neglected property for sale.

As Olsen's Sarah screams, runs, and fights for her survival, it's the same kind of scenario that horror fans have seen Jamie Lee Curtis, Adrienne King, Amy Steel, or any number of other Final Girls run through. Only instead of occupying the last twenty minutes of the film, Olsen really gets a workout as she has to sustain this level of terror for the majority of Silent House's eighty eight minute running time.

Some would say that the lack of build-up to Sarah's plight works against creating audience sympathy for the character. We don't really know much at all about Sarah before we're asked to root for her survival. I don't agree with that complaint myself as I think it's fairly easy to feel sympathetic towards someone under attack. I don't really need to know what their life story is to care. Getting to know more about a character is always good but the lack of backstory is not an insurmountable obstacle to audience sympathy.

Whatever level of sympathy viewers may or may not feel for Sarah, though, their feelings for the overall movie will be tested by Silent House's concluding moments as the reason for Sarah's ordeal comes to light. I won't go into details but I will say it's not going to please everybody. In fact, it'll probably be a deal breaker for most. Me, I thought it was fine. I didn't love the resolution but I didn't feel like it betrayed my investment in the film. Ultimately, Silent House is a shoulder shrug sort of film - it's not awful but I'd never revisit it and I'd only recommend it on the strength of Olsen's performance.

This is the second film from the filmmaking couple of Chris Kentis and Laura Lau who first drew acclaim for their 2003 debut Open Water. The fact that it's taken the duo nearly ten years to deliver a follow up is a discouraging reminder of just how difficult it is to get movies made - even with a success to your name. Sadly, Silent House isn't as impressive as Open Water was but neither is it a disaster. Hopefully Kentis and Lau won't have to wait nearly another decade to add another film to their resume.

The Delusion Of A Disordered Mind

Call me crazy (or slow on the draw) but I noticed something new while recently rewatching Phantasm II. While Reggie and Mike are driving through a Tall Man-ravaged small town, one shot of the debris-strewn streets and boarded up store fronts suddenly jumped out at me as being not an actual location, as I always assumed it to be, but in fact a miniature set.

This detail has probably been completely obvious to everyone all along but it's taken me I don't know how many viewings for my eye to detect telltale signs of artifice in this shot.

But rather than ruin the moment, spying the fakery instead put a big smile on my face. This is the kind of unexpected discovery that the digital age has robbed us of now that moviemakers no longer have to use a variety of practical methods to pull off their illusions.

This moment amounts to just a brief few seconds of screen time and it's not any kind of pivotal scene - it's just there to give a sense of the Tall Man's path of destruction. But yet it required some craftsman on the crew (perhaps Ken Tarallo, credited as model maker in the film's credits) to spend what was likely weeks to construct a cool little miniature full of finely acheived detail which then had to be lit and photographed just right to make it convincing. Or...perhaps I'm just seeing things.

Either way, Phantasm II continues to be damn cool.