I rewatched Richard Bates Jr.'s Excision (a perfect film) this past Saturday night, and it put me back on the White Lung. I don't think I'd ever seen this video, taken from 2016's Paradise (a perfect album), directed by Bates and starring Excision's Pauline, AnnaLynne McCord.
I miss this band.
A very meta take on doing a zombie film about a guy who makes a zombie film and then fears that will be his high point. In that way, this is more a contemplation on the interior pressures of an artist than a straight horror film, but it was fun and had some great ideas, even if not everything worked all the time. Overall, a definite recommend, especially if you dig films like 2018's You Might Be the Killer; I feel like that would make a perfect double feature with this film.
Watch:
I did a couple of Virtual Screenings at Ft. Lauderdale's Popcorn Frights Film Fest this past Friday. First up, Luke Bursaća's Videoteka.
I really liked a lot about this film, but found it's pacing to be off. I think the script either wasn't quite right, or there was something lost in the translation between Serbian culture and my own. Still, let me lay out the accolades because there are many: The lighting is exquisite! The Acting is all top-notch, the sound design and score are fantastic, and the locations and set/production design really transport you to the world of the film. I think the trouble lay in balancing a wrap-around with three fairly lengthy films within the film. That's definitely not an easy format to work with, and I'd say Mr. Bursaća did a pretty damn good job. Can't wait to see what he does next.
Next up, Michael Varrati's There's a Zombie Outside. No trailer up yet for this one that I could find, so here's the poster:
Popcorn Fright Film Fest runs through August 18th. I don't think I'll have a chance to see any more virtual films, but if you're looking for some new Horror/Genre, check the fest out HERE.
Read:
I tore through the final three volumes of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing saga over the weekend, and I can say that due to some neglect years before, I don't think I'd ever actually read the final three issues of the run. As the trajectory Moore and his artists create in the earlier volumes, their tenure on Swamp Thing more than lives up to the expectations they set at the outset redefining the character from Once-Man-Now-Monster to something God-like and, ultimately, Cosmic. The final two volumes especially really stretch Moore's concepts as far as they can go - like allll the way across the DCU's cosmic breadth. I wasn't huge on the Brujeria Cosmic World Ending Crisis storyline, but then me and world-ending cataclysms in comics reached saturation at least a decade ago. That said, it's still cool to see the template for what DC has been trying to refine into their "Dark Justice League" since the New 52 here in its inception and see it done flawlessly, no less.
Of particular note in these volumes is issue 60, Loving the Alien. Named after Bowie song, this is unlike any other mainstream American comic at this time (that I know of, at least).
A tale of techno-organic lust, the words flow more like William Burroughs than anything Moore did in Swamp book's done previously and the art... to say John TotLeben redefines what a DC comic can look like here is an understatement. This was such an interesting period in comics.
Around the same time, Barry Windsor Smith did Uncanny X-Men #205, and there's a throughline here. This is where that Métal Hurlant influence really creeps into the establishment in the states, and it's glorious.
Now to move seamlessly into Neil Gaiman's Sandman, which in many ways picks up and continues some of the smaller threads of Moore's Swamp Thing. I'll admit, I'd also like to look into what followed this groundbreaking run.
Playlist:
QOTSA - Villains
Jim Williams - Possessor OST
Anthrax - Sound of White Noise
Amigo the Devil - Born Against
Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World
Chris Isaak - Speak of the Devil
Slayer - Live Undead/Haunting the Chapel
Danzig - Danzig 4
Stephen Sanchez - Angel Face
Roy Orbison - Greatest Hits
Calexico - Even Sure Things Fall Through
Melvins & Lustmord - Pigs of the Roman Empire
Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments
Final Light - Eponymous
Willie Nelson - Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin
Simon Waskow - Luz OST
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE. Also, Grimm's Kickstarter for the Hand of Doom Tarot Art Book is up. Check it out HERE.
• XVIII: The Moon
• Knight of Swords
• Eight of Wands
Something obscured from sight (or neglected) will provide motivation for transformation.
Can it get any more vague than that? Probably not, but my head's only half in this at the moment, so I'll be chewing on that all day.
