From the forthcoming record Decay, out September 25 on Relapse Records. Pre-order HERE.
Going back to that health update from Justin K. Broadrick back in early March, this is the penultimate Goflesh record. That gives me chills.
R.I.P.:
We had an erroneous sneak peek at this post on Wednesday when I pasted in the wrong code, but here's my tribute to Reggie Fucking Banister. R.I.P.
Back in 2016, I got to briefly say hello to Reggie (from a distance - lots of people and I was extremely concerned with adding to the swarm) on the sidewalk outside L.A.'s Egyptian Theatre. Beyondfest premiered Phantasm: Ravager as part of a double feature with the then-newly restored original Phantasm. I remember reading shortly thereafter that he'd had some health concerns, so maybe ten years on, this was for the best. Either way, sucks to lose such a legend. I always wished we might get a Reggie/Ash crossover at some point when Don Coscarelli began talking about doubling down on Phantasm again in the early 00s. Nothing really came of that, but maybe someday we'll see a comic or something. Either way, I bring it up because Reggie is up there with Campbell for me, as far as 80s Horror Hero Icons.
Watch:
Last night K and I went to see the 20th-anniversary 4K restoration of Neil Marshall's 2005 film The Descent. Here's the trailer released in anticipation of this new theatrical run:
As a diehard Dog Soldiers fan from shortly after it hit video in 2002, I'd been waiting for a new Marshall film and was overjoyed that his sophomore film received the huge theatrical rollout his first film should have. I don't necessarily have to agree with the consensus that seems to consider this his best film - I dig it, especially after seeing it again on the big screen 20 years later - but it's no Dog Soldiers. It's always bothered me that I've pretty much never cared for any of Mr. Marshall's subsequent films, but he is a definite craftsman and I always (almost) give them a chance.
Watching this for the second time on the big screen, twenty years later, a couple of things occurred to me:
A) I don't think I've seen this since its theatrical release in 2006, and considering the impact it had on me then via what I've carried with me since, I think I missed A LOT of subtext and nuance that first time around.
B) Much like Open Water, The Descent affects me. I have a thing about tight, underground spaces (never been in one, not wanted to be in one) the same way I have a thing about large bodies of water. The film exploits that - to great effect, and the result is a genuinely visceral experience. Everything from the point in the film where Holly takes point, all those claustrophobic shots of the girls wiggling into and through some of the most insanely tight holes - not gonna use the word passages for anything that small - is tantamount to any fear I reserve from a viewing of Friedkin's The Exorcist. But it's a different kind of fear, one that I feel less in my mind's eye and more in my body. This serves the film well, so that when bones start a'breakin' and blood lettin', I'm already there.
One final note - for a 4K restoration, the film looks fantastic, but the sound is abysmal. Maybe the worst sound I've ever heard in the theatre. The dialogue through the first act of the film - i.e., pre-cave - is buried so deep in the mix of the score I gave up trying. The mix gets a bit better once we're inside the cave, but even then, everything feels like it has a thin layer of sonic gauze over it. Shame, because this is otherwise a five-star film. Not sure if that's a problem with the source that couldn't be fixed or if my theatre somehow dropped the ball with their equipment. Either way, it definitely detracted from the overall experience.
Playlist:
Steve Moore - Jimmy and Stiggs OST
Carlos Rafael Rivera - They Will Kill You OST
Godflesh - Selfless
The Cramps - RockinnReelinInAucklandNewZealandXXX
The Cramps - A Date with Elvis
Godflesh - Purge
The Cramps - Flamejob
Man Or Astroman? - Intravenous Television Continuum
Godflesh - Living/Ending (single)
The Ocean - Fogdiver
Godflesh - Eponymous
Mastodon - Live at the Aragon
Justin Hamline - This Machine Kills Music
L7 - Hungry for Stink
Sewer Mutant Podcast - Sam Keith Tribute
Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications
Blackbraid - Arte Concert Summer Breeze Live Stream
Spotlights - Seance E.P.
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Eldritch Lace Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• Nine of Cups
• Seven of Swords
• Nine of Swords
Be careful what you wish for? The strategic victory you spent so much time finagling may make things worse.
Definitely a work pull.
