It's been five years since we had new music from Bohren and Der Club of Gore. Five long years. And while I'm still largely hung up on Sunset Mission, I can't wait for this one. My life needs to feel more like a David Lynch movie, and, well, I can't think of any better way to accomplish that. Other than introducing myself to my neighbor whose husband is missing an ear, but I'm pretty sure this is the better route.
**
It's been a minute since I logged any X-Files episodes, but over the last few days I've been sick and had some time to slip back into that world. First, I have to say, although I was never a huge fan of this show during its original airing - I briefly became interested in the 'Mythology' episodes and made a few half-assed attempts to keep up with those - I am very much enjoying diving into The X-Files now. A large part of that isn't just the quality of the show, which, while still very much "TV," feels very nostalgic for me. This is indirectly the case with Twin Peaks as well; any TV from this early 90s era that I can connect with - which is rare - brings with it a sense memory of that time in my life. The feel of the house I grew up in, the elastic quality of nighttime spent in our living room, the large picture windows pulling the night inside, the many large trees that surrounded our small home always on guard just outside. The suburb I grew up in is essentially a township carved out of a forest preserve, and my memories of growing up there definitely play into watching this show the same way it does the original Peaks; the screen tends to blend with the environment, or in my current, mostly treeless home in LaLa Land, it blends with the memory of those trees and how they were a daily part of my life.
But I digress. It's time once again for...
Season Two, Episode Twenty, "Humbug" - Freakshow! While these days, the whole freak show setting feels overdone to me - I've continued to avoid the titular AHS season due to that feeling - this is another episode with Twin Peaks alumni, and a definite ploy to the at-the-time interest in all things "alternative." Not a bad thing; it works here, and even though Jim Rose and crew feel a little shoe-horned in (remember they opened Lollapalooza for a while in this era), the always marvelous Vincent Schiavelli evens everything out. This guy is such a great character actor, and his distinct visage and more than worthy chops are something I grew up with seeing in a lot of disparate places, from Night Court to Buckaroo Bonzai, so that he owns a little piece of my heart, for all time.
Season Three, Episode Four, "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" - A great little episode co-starring Peter Boyle as a reluctant, socially confused psychic; an old man who has lived with a bizarre gift he doesn't want, and what happens when that brings him into a murder investigation. In his notes on this episode, Brown pitched it as, "Creepy," and he was not wrong. I really dug this one.
Season Three, Episode Twenty, "Jose Chung's From Outerspace" - An episode I had seen at least once before, and one that made a mark on me back in the day due to its strangely comedic tone. Really out there at times, to the point it seems to threaten the integrity of the mythology the show is building. But then it doesn't, and everything ends up working perfectly within the confines of what the show has already set up.
Zombi - Shape Shift
Lovecraft and Sabrina Spellman - Straight to Hell
INXS - Kick
Card:
Of particular interest to me here, today, is the image of the Crab, which here symbolizes the aggressive and/or healing attributes of Water, or Emotion. This plays directly into something I wrote into the outline for Book Three yesterday, and I think I'll read this as suggesting an attempt to work in a bit of symbolism in an otherwise literal scene.
I know nothing about Hilary Woods, but this song and its accompanying video are gorgeous in the creepiest possible way. The album drops March 13th on Sacred Bones - and it brings me a little spark of joy knowing that's a Friday to boot. Pre-order HERE.
**
NCBD:
Nothing new this week that's on my radar, but I still have to grab Trees: Three Fates #5. from two weeks ago (not sure how I keep missing this one or why I never put it on my Pull):
Trees: Three Fates has been a nice mostly dose of Warren Ellis' comics writing, and its helped me postpone getting involved in Batman's Grave on a monthly basis. As I editorialized on the most recent episode of Drinking with Comics, I'll read an independent monthly, but I'm done reading Big Two books in a format constantly interrupted by shitty ads. Plus, admittedly, Ellis always reads better in trade.
I know Trees won't be coming back for a while, but I'm really looking forward to the return of Injection, which I believe I read will be starting up again this year. Injection stands as my favorite Ellis book since Doktor Sleepless, and I miss it dearly.
**
I finished David Cronenberg's Consumed. Outstanding. Five stars - six if it was possible. I really can't wait to see this rendered by the author into a visual, episodic format. There's some serious body horror here, and it runs the game from subtle-but-terrifying to remarkably vulgar. Thus, it should make for a fantastic Cronenberg project.
In the wake of Consumed, I've become a book my friend Jesus gifted me for Christmas, Chuck Wendig's Wanderers:
One-hundred and six pages in and I can't put this book down! I know nothing about the story going in - I hadn't even heard of it before Jesus put it in my hand - and that's definitely making for a great read. Also, its always nice to see a tense or horrific story start with a twist on something so basic - what if your loved one started sleepwalking and would not stop for anything?
**
Playlist:
Steve Moore - Bliss OST
Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST
Zombi - Shape Shift
Umberto - Helpless Spectator
Tangerine Dream - Exit
Godflesh - Post Self
Godflesh - Hymns
Card:
Yesterday's card was XXI: The Universe, and it compelled me to work for an extended period of time on the "Bigger Ideas" of the final book in the Shadow Play series. I've made a pact with myself to not begin writing the second book - which is painstakingly outlined - until I have the entirety of the third volume outlined as well. This has proved challenging, to say the least. My writing sessions, have been long and consisted of reading research material, outlining, story boarding (of a sort), and all kinds of other fun tasks, but nothing that scratches the itch to write. Still, a solid three hours yesterday and I made what feels like serious progress.
Serious. Professional. Driven. All qualities I could stand to aspire to of late; as much fun as this phase of the Shadow Play project is, it's susceptible to distraction. I downloaded a new focus app, called Tomato Timer, and it's helped me get a handle on this a bit. And on that note, off to work!
It's only been over the last ten years or so that I've begun to feel a growing obsession with the cinematic works of William Friedkin. The man whose name I once knew solely in conjunction with what I once considered the scariest movie ever made, The Exorcist, began to take on new connotations back somewhere in the murky recesses of the end of our previous decade. It was at that time I watched The French Connection for the first time since I was an un-interested child, a third-person voyeur's viewing via the method of early film ingestion many 80s children will relate to. During the dawn of the VHS and video store boom, Saturday nights were commonly VCR Nights; you'd trek to the Video Store with your parents early in the day, pick out something to watch during the afternoon or early evening, then after dinner, it was parents' movie time. Sometimes they rented stuff we could all watch, sometimes it was stuff you weren't interested in but you stayed in the front room and played with your toys while they watched, because the nuclear family was still mostly alive and well in the Suburban United States and the units of the family gravitated toward one another, teenage social rebellion having not yet set in. Then sometimes, there were movies like The Falcon and Snowman, or The Deer Hunter, where the folks waited until you were in bed to watch. It is in this second variation that I believe I originally was exposed to and absorbed elements of The French Connection, but what made it to adulthood was little more than the film's grimy tone.
When I did sit down in my thirties and watch Popeye Doyle and the entire spectacle of Friedkin's crime epic, I was floored. I'd just finished reading a book that Mr. Brown had lent me, Stephen Farber's Outrageous Conduct. Primarily a depiction of the events leading up to and the aftermath from the deaths of veteran actor Vic Morrow and two young children during the filming of John Landis' Twilight Zone: The Movie, Farber offered examples of other 'outrageous conduct' by 70s/80s era directors. The French Connection was included; Friedkin's filming of a car chase during actual New York City traffic resonated with me as outrageous, but just the right kind of outrageous. This is the commitment that made Cinema what it was in its heyday. It is also what led to corporate control and the eventual commoditization of Cinema, so that today, good or bad, all we really have with big budgets are franchise movies. The French Connection played out before me, eliciting moments of half-remembered ah-has, but ultimately as a brand new experience, making me realize the rest of Friedkin's work was something well worth engaging in.
Sorcerer was another movie that I believe Farber's book mentioned. Long elusive to digital transfer, I hunted for screenings of this one for a few years, until finally a BR was announced. I tried to order that disc several times; on every episode it eluded me, until early in 2019, when Friedkin's jungle-epic popped back up on Amazon. I ordered it, however, Amazon had trouble fulfilling that order. I received countless emails over the course of several weeks, all assurances the disc would ship soon. Until finally, the final email came and announced a refund had been issued. It seems I was to wait just a little while longer before I could see Sorcerer*.
Finally, last week, a happened to look at my Amazon wish list and noticed Sorcerer on Blu Ray had returned. I snapped that fucker up in a heartbeat and two days later, my disc arrived.
This past Saturday, I sat down to finally watch this much-anticipated film. However, my initial viewing was doomed from the start. It was late, and Sorcerer has, what my good friend and fellow Horror Vision co-host Ray calls '70s pacing.' Now, to be clear, I do not mind '70s pacing.' In many cases, I love it. However, I have to be ready for it. Last Saturday, I was not. After sleeping through most of this attempt, I called it quits around 2:30 AM and left the comfy confines of our new couch for the more appropriate quarters of our bed.
The following day was a frustrating one. This always happens when I fail to meet an anticipated film on its own terms. When a movie is as theoretically this amazing and I don't bond with it, my initial interpretation of that schism is that the problem originates with me, not the film. How many amazing pieces of art, whether song, prose, film, do we encounter in our lives and dismiss, only to reconnect with it years later and realize we were simply not tuned to that piece's specific wavelength upon first encounter? It so happens that, after moping about Sunday, Monday returned from work with the first strains of viral illness washing over me and dug in for another attempt.
This time, Sorcerer worked.
I still had a hard time with the first hour or so of the film, and I'm now leaning toward that being the Film's fault and not mine, but after making it all the way through, I intend to go back and see if completing the journey helps bolster what otherwise feels like pacing issues. Issues caused by a Director's insistence on adhering to a "European" tone that really doesn't do anything but, to reference an infamous scene later in the film, spin its tires in the mud. However, I'm still not sure I won't now see something in the arduous first act that I didn't see before. Regardless, Sorcerer is an achievement of a film, and one I will continue to engage with, analyze, and subject others to for the rest of my life. Because the imagery, the acting, and the cinema verite reality of that acting is of a caliber that's nearly unbelievable, and because, like another movie I wrote about here recently, from the perspective of 2020's Hollywood, it is almost unbelievable anyone allowed a director to be so indulgent as to make this movie. In keeping with this, you'll notice this title card during the film's opening:
That's because a second studio pitched in to help carry the cost of completing the film after money began to wash away in the storm Friedkin had created. You can read about this in length on the Wikipedia Entry for Sorcerer, however there's a wealth of other information out there, most of it coalescing in the Italian Documentary Friedkin Uncut, which has yet to have a release in the states. My own information from the documentary came second hand; gleaned from talking with someone who was lucky enough to see the film on an airplane in Europe.
Also, and there's no way to discuss this film and not mention this, the rope bridge scene is surely one of the greatest realizations of a Director's vision ever put to film. It's outstanding in its tension, almost a bullet hole that kills the rest of the film, if it wasn't for the narratives degeneration into complete, alien madness. For an in-depth discussion of where this film goes visually, HERE is a great article I found while putting this post together.
Another little time capsule that helps illustrate the cultural malaise toward this film upon its release, here's a clip I found online via the Eyes on Cinema youtube channel, which has a wealth of information on it:
Both men are mis-informed about the film's 'Special FX,' and I wonder if that's because during the initial release of Sorcerer, Friedkin had to downplay the dangerous conditions he'd created in order to make the film, possibly because the studio(s) already had displayed the intention to let it die a quick and costly death? Would revealing the methods of madness employed in the Rope Bridge Sequence, the real explosions captured during the Jerusalem Vignette, or the toll the film had taken on its cast helped bring people in to see Sorcerer? We'll never know.
Finally, just to bring everything around full circle, the track that leads off this post is from Tangerine Dreams phenomenal OST to the film, which Waxwork Records just released in their customary fantastic high-end format. You can peruse or purchase that record HERE.
.................
* During this time, several pop up screenings occurred at the likes of the more passionate, independent movie houses in LaLa Land. I could attend none of them.
Recently, my fellow Horror Vision host Butcher turned me onto the band Mol. It was immediate enrapture; 2018's album Jord reminds me so much of when another fellow Horror Visionary, Tori, introduced me to Fenn. There's melody, emotional resonance, and ear-shattering howls. The entire album is amazing, but right now, this track is my favorite.
**
Back in September I was fortunate enough to attend Beyondfest 2019's screening of Richard Stanley's new film, The Color Out of Space. An adaptation of a classic H.P. Lovecraft story, Stanley's movie moved me - I did a solo, quick-take review for The Horror Vision - and during the post-screening Q and A with the director, Stanley mentioned he had a long-standing affinity for HPL's fiction and would love to do more. Specifically he mentioned at the time, The Dunwich Horror.
Well, thanks to Spectrevision, it's happening. In fact, Spectrevision and Stanley are launching an all-out Lovecraft Universe, and more films are to follow!
Dreams really do come true, don't they?
You can read all the specifics on Bloody Disgusting, HERE.
In the meantime, The Color Out of Space is hitting theaters this weekend; not sure how wide a release this will be, but keep your eyes open for this one, because it's definitely worth seeing on the big screen. Especially the ending.
**
Playlist:
Godflesh - Hymns
Algiers - There Is No Year
Steve Moore - Bliss OST
93MillionMilesFromTheSun - Towards the Light
Loving this new project from former Unsane frontman. The album drops March 13th on Ipecac Records; you can pre-order it HERE.
**
Last night, K and I returned to the theatre for a second viewing of Underwater, and this time we brought a couple of the other fiends from The Horror Vision. The second viewing was almost better than the first, and afterward we recorded a short episode - a spoiler heavy discussion. Also, THV is now available on Stitcher, as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Play:
Ah yes, that Breakthrough. A well-timed reminder to get my ass out the door and to my writing spot, instead of starting a movie or continuing to sit here reading.
Last night I had the absolute pleasure of seeing the 1993 movie Freaked at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Freaked is a film I don't think I had ever even heard of before a few weeks ago, when I caught sight of the screening via Beyondfest's Twitter. Even though I didn't know the film, I saw them tweet that Paul Leary would be present "with his guitar" and bought two tickets immediately.
Turns out, that was a very good thing...
Written by Alex Winter, Tim Burns, and Tom Stern, and directed by Winter and Stern, Freaked is an absolute marvel of practical FX, courtesy of Screaming Mad George, Alterian FX and XFX. The movie is an testament to a Hollywood that no longer exists. Costing Thirteen Million and boasting a cast that includes but is not limited to Winter, Brooke Shields, William Sadler, Gibby Haynes (yes, that Gibby Haynes), John Hawkes, Randy Quaid, an uncredited Keanu Reeves, and so many more, Freaked is absolute madness. And since this was a Beyondfest event, there was, of course, special guests.
The evening began in Peter Seychelle's comfortable study...
No, wait.
The evening began with Burns, Stern, and Winter explaining how Freaked grew out of their MTV show Idiot Box. From there, they played a first pass at a conceptual Rock n Roll Horror Movie they had attempted to spin out of the show, a feature-length film that, well, in their words, "Was basically The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with the Butthole Surfers as the cannibal hillbilly family."
The footage was, of course, as insane as that might lead you to believe. They began with this clip from Idiot Box, to clear up a joke at the beginning of the film:
Then moved to the aforementioned Rock n Roll Horror Film, Entering Texas:
From there Freaked played, with a stop motion "Holo Rollins" Henry Rollins discount "hologram" set in time to sing with Freaked, the Rollins/Blind Idiot God title song that plays over David Daniels' brilliant hand-animated title sequence title sequence. During the film, Paul Leary did indeed take the stage several times to play live guitar over key "freak out" sequences.
By this time, I considered my investment to have already paid off ten-fold.
After the film the special guests took the stage and Burns, Stern, and Winter were joined by Catherine Hardwicke, John Hawkes, composer Kevin Kiner, the real Henry Rollins, Lee Arenberg, Megan Ward, and FX maestros Bill Corso, Tony Gardner, and I think Jim Eustermann, although by the time we got to the three FX gurus, things were a bit of a blur.
Every time I get frustrated with living in LaLa Land, something like this happens and I am reminded why I absolutely love living in this city. Special thanks to Beyondfest, Mondo/DeathWaltz, and @troniks on Twitter, who provided the beautiful 35mm print of the film. A wonderful night all around. Oh, and all that wonderful Idiot Box and early Winter/Burns/Stern footage comes from turdburglar27's wonderful youtube channel where you too, can watch Entering Texas.
Song:
While I was at the Egyptian last night witnessing early 90s Cinematic Magic, the Melvins played a pop up LaLa Land Gallery. Here's Inky Psyops and Printed Schemes, a song I am not familiar with at all, courtesy of Baby Gorilla, whose channel is always chock full o' great live music.
**
Playlist:
Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST
Steve Moore - Bliss OST
93MillionMilesFromTheSun - Towards the Light
Mol - Jord
Godflesh - Hymns
Zonal - Wrecked
Butthole Surfers - Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac
Card:
The Air of Water, a reminder to temper emotion with intellect, not always an easy thing to do.
From the album Some Music For Robby Müller, out January 31st on Sacred Bones Records. Pre-Order HERE.
**
I'm nearly finished with David Cronenberg's novel Consumed. It is fantastic. Seriously, so interesting and unnerving. Conceptually, it's another "How did he even think of that?" which is pretty common for Cronenberg. The idea that he's adapting this for a Netflix series makes me super happy, and here's a short I found online that looks like a dry run at the idea for translating this novel to the screen. Starring Evelyne Brochu, from Orphan Black.
Yeah. The story is creepy AF and a return to the body horror genre Cronenberg defined in the 70s/80s.
**
Playlist:
David Bowie - Heathen
David Bowie - Outside
Damage Manual - Limited Edition
Zonal - Wrecked
Zonal - Eponymous Single
Godflesh - Love and Hate in Dub
Zombi - Shape Shift
Preoccupations - Eponymous
King Krule - The OOZ
Carpenter Brut - Trilogy
David Bowie - Low
Tomahawk - Mit Gas
