Review: Deadgirl (2008)

Here is a small bit of a surprise that I would like to share with you. I enjoyed watching a horror movie about necrophilia. Is that shocking? Yes, it can be different from the acceptable norm, but the acting in the film Deadgirl (2008) was good for a horror film. Despite the abnormal topic with a rather unusual amount of open acceptance for a very unusual sexual practice, I must say that I was completely pulled into watching the movie.

Call me strange and weird if you must, but there are moments when I find a film valuable and redeeming enough in some form or fashion that otherwise could be nothing more than a considerable amount of garbage. It shall be no surprise to anyone of the shock value contained within any horror film. This would be a contributing reason why the genre is appropriately named. Looking back to the silent era of movies when Lon Chaney was starring in films like The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) the audience held an expectation to see the revealing moment of horror when the monstrous figure would turn to the camera to display his grotesque ugliness. The medium shot or close up would shock and appall the members of the audience, but the crowds kept returning to the theater to be scared. Shocking the audience with horrific images defines the genre, but now the genre has evolved and expanded over the last century to include sadistic themes and subject matter that is dark in nature. The literary works of Edgar Allen Poe contain story lines are built upon themes perusing through the murky waters of human nature. Those stories have been adapted into movies with great success.

I will mention of my own personal intention of generally avoiding horror films. The stories are stereotypical in nature and for the most part the acting and dialogue is prone to skipping over any quality sense of realism. How many times does the audience have to scream at the characters “don’t go in there” when an idiotic character is within close proximity to a serial killer? It proves that the majority of the horror films in recent decades have followed a formulaic story. The main drawing power for the audience to spend time watching the film is for the moment of surprise and shock that would offer a bit of an adrenaline rush. The basis for reality for logical reasoning that the characters are lacking would be intentionally placed in the background, if not completely ignored. The dialogue is usually written as filler to connect all the “shock moments” together within the film, in turn allowing the writer to become a bit sloppy so that we can be rushed to the scary moments of the story.

All of this has been tweaked a bit and partly ignored for the film Deadgirl. The shocking moment of the entire story is the topic of necrophilia. A taboo subject would make the general population cringe with disgust and shock. This would allow the perfect focus for the story to scare the crap out of everyone. A few moments in the story touch upon the usual expectations for a film of its kind. There are loud noises blaring after a brief moment of silence, quite a bit of nudity to draw in the viewing audience of the young male crowd, and there are several moments of violent acts to stir up a bit of aggression and adrenaline among the audience. Why would it even be worth watching? It sounds horrid. The film is intentionally horrible as the nature of the genre demands.

Rarely do I sit down to watch a horror film, because I find the stories to be predictably stupid and boring. Once in a great while I will sit down and watch one just for the mind numbing drivel to help pass the time. As the case is for Deadgirl, an occasional horror film slips past me with a surprising bit of entertainment that I actually enjoyed viewing. The film utilizes the tools of the horror trade and turns it into a dramatic story about peer pressure and criminal behavior among teenagers. The characters are above par in terms of believability, because the dialogue is written better than in most horror films. The actors were able to take the above average dialogue and run with it as far as they could take it. This would be the reason why I was so enthralled by the story in the film. As I am watching the story unfold, I want to know how the characters are going to remove themselves from a very difficult predicament. It clearly pulls the audience into a conflict of character and that is what defines a good dramatic story.

Book Review -- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

If you must do so, there is an allowance offered to call me horrid, dark, unusual, sadistic, strange, demented, or just plain off the radar. It must be noted that I enjoy a valuable mash-up when the material is entertaining and fun. What is a mash-up, exactly? It is the art of combining unreasonably different sources of material into a single product. There is an excellent amount of mash-up examples all over the internet for you to peruse through. There is one particular example video of “Granny Teller” explaining the definition of musical mash-up, which can be viewed by following this link. In addition, an entertainment mash-up combining LEGO bricks with Star Wars is available to watch in this two-minute action packed video. Personally, I have enjoyed literary and movie mash-ups, because those are the two formats that I frequently turn to for entertainment. Several months ago, if not a full year that has gone by, I was introduced to a mash-up book titled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. As suggested by the name, it combines the classic novel by Jane Austen with an army of zombies that attack the Bennet family. Within the original novel, the Bennet sisters are fully trained in the deadly arts (also known as martial arts) which they utilize to attack and behead the living dead whom terrorize the English countryside. What an intriguing mash-up to read: zombies infiltrating classic English literature! Bring it on!

Have you picked up a copy of the book and read it? I am curious to know what your reaction is to the material. Do you like mash-up stories such as a Jane Austen and zombie partnership? For those of you who actually enjoyed reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and then I have a bit of good news to share. A prequel book will be released on March 23, 2010 from the publishers Quirk Classics. That is just shy of three weeks away. The title of the book is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls and it was written by Steve Hockensmith. For the viewing pleasure of those who are curious, feast your eyes upon the book cover that has been embedded on the right hand side. With all clarification, I would like to point out the fact that the book is not penned by the same author who wrote the original mash-up novel. There is no need for concern, because there still lies a strong presence of the same written style of dark humor and satire that has been carried over from the original book. Luckily, I was able to read both books in their entirety. Truthfully, it must be admitted that I have enjoyed reading the material. For the prequel novel, Dawn of the Dreadfuls, the story is almost original in its entirety. The unoriginal portion of the book would be the primary characters who have been borrowed from Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, but the plot and story is completely original. The reader is introduced to the Bennet family at a time when England has cherished an enjoyable dry spell completely free from a mysterious plague that has transformed the dead residents of the country into a perilous regiment of unmentionable creatures. Considering formalities and proper etiquette, no Englishman or woman would openly refer to the walking dead as a zombie. Each one of these eerie figures are simply referred to as a “dreadful’ or an “unmentionable” being.

With proper behavior quickly moved aside, the Bennet family is thrown upon the reappearance of the mysterious plague. While attending the funeral of a neighbor they are surprised to bear witness to the dead neighbor fighting to escape from his own coffin. Mister Bennet is the only experienced zombie warrior attending the funeral, but he quickly embraces the opportunity of the situation to teach his two oldest daughters the importance of zombie killing. The funeral marks as the catalyst for action for Mister Bennet. Without much delay, he requests military protection from the government and receives one hundred troops upon his front doorstep within no time. In addition, he takes it upon himself to train his five daughters in the skill of the deadly arts, commonly known to the reader as Martial Arts, until the arrival of highly skilled sensei from the Far East. Much to the surprise of Mister Bennet, the new sensei is very young and susceptible to the weakness of physical attraction toward one of the eldest Bennet daughters. Hmm, it is an interesting conflict of interest to say the least.

The entire novel covers the history of training of the five Bennet daughters in the craft of fighting against the walking dead. Within the novel, they practice and perfect their skill with the basics of the deadly arts as they are simultaneously introduced to the frightening reality of the zombie plague. At the start of the original novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the Bennet sisters are fully skilled warriors who are unflinching in their confrontational exposure to the army of zombies infiltrating the land of England. The prequel book covers quite of bit of ground with all the references that are made in the original novel about their training period. As a form a fair trade, Dawn of the Dreadfuls is littered with references of future events that would appear in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. These numerous connections mark a perfect bridge between the two stories that help carry the reader from one book over to the other.

The experience of reading about zombie battles breaking their way into a Jane Austen story has been quite interesting for me. Particularly interesting about these mash-up novels would be the exciting news about the film adaptation of the original book. Natalie Portman has been freely mentioned as an attached producer to the film production of the story. It definitely will be an entertaining film for many horror fans alike, I could only imagine. If the film turns out to be a success, then it could mark as precedence for the prequel book to be adapted as well. It would be a fun starting point for all of the mash-up books published by Quirk Classics. Hurray!

In concluding the overview (and semi-review) for the book, I would like to suggest that you head over to the Quirk Classics message forum for the book. Participating in their online forum you will have an opportunity to be one of fifty winners to receive a prize pack, which includes the following items:

• A Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Journal. (Sneak Peak)
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Postcards. (Sneak Peak)
• Audio Books of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (product preview) and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (product preview).
• An advance copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls.
• A password redeemable online for sample audio chapters of Dawn of the Dreadfuls.
• A Dawn of the Dreadfuls Poster.

Take note of the (free) login requirement to participate in the Quirk Classics message forum. Sure, it means that you would have to remember one more password for one more site, but it allows the opportunity to win free stuff and interact with other people who also love reading the same material that you enjoy reading.

For those who are visually oriented I have a special gift to offer you. Here is a promotional trailer for the book. It is filled with beautiful women, and lots of blood, gore and violence. Enjoy.

Review: Shutter Island (2010)

There is a certain appeal about a movie with a story filled with dark thematic elements and a production design that pushes the dark end of a visual scheme. The look and feel of all the elements that are present in a film noir movie is what draws me into watching it with interest. These movies are filmed in such a way that the dark shadows become a character of their own. The dark areas of the screen tend to add a bit of personal depth to the actual characters who reside within the story of the movie. The people have something to hide from the other characters, but they are not upfront about with holding any information. It would be an intentional device to intertwine the visual style of film noir with that of the personal dark secrets held by the characters within the story. However, the particular method of film noir storytelling is clearly set apart from the visual cousin of the horror film, which also utilizes dark shadows and murderous characters to its advantage. The directive of storytelling between the two styles is as different as night and day. Film noir movies tend to break down the human condition into an allegory, parable, or investigative piece about human behavior. If a horror film attempts to explain the human condition and behavioral actions of a serial killer, then it would add up to nothing more than a delusion of grandeur. The tools of cinematic production are the same, but the directive of storytelling is different. I am drawn to the directive of the film noir, which holds the dark elements of production design and a story that provokes the audience to contemplate various aspects of human behavior. To describe as plainly as possible, I enjoy a movie that pushes me to use my brain once in awhile instead of purely resting upon the mind-numbing and often boring appeal of scaring the crap out of me for two hours. The golden era of film noir has been highly treasured during the 1940s, but there is still a strong presence of the genre appearing in contemporary films, including Martin Scorsese’s thriller Shutter Island (2010). The screenplay has been adapted from the bestselling book written by Dennis Lehane who has gained popularity in Hollywood with the cinematic adaptations of his books including Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River.

Perusing through the inventory of cinematic elements appearing in Shutter Island there are several pieces that are classic icons of the traditional film noir story. There is a detective, a criminal villain, questionable ethics from an authoritative figure, and the highly recognizable use of high contrast cinematography. The elements of storytelling through means of behavioral study, which I have already described, are fervently apparent in this film. The prominent setting for the vast majority of the film is placed within the premises of an institution for the criminally insane. With an enclosed location such as a prison would be a twofold venture that presents the opportunity to serve up an army of criminals who all could be the villain of the story, but they are also monitored by an authoritarian system who holds an indication of questionable ethics of professionalism. Marking the prison as a holding pen for mentally unstable people is nothing short of an easy target for the observation of human behavior, since every character will bring out their internal animal instincts for survival without any relevance of consideration for morals and ethics to slow them down.

Although the film (and the book as well, presumably) makes an honest effort at presenting the story with a twist ending, it was not so cleverly disguised in the final cut of the film. Various elements that would suggest the expectations held by the audience are false pretenses to be destroyed in the third act of the film were sneaking into the story as early as the beginning of the second act. The lead character, Teddy Daniels, is a United States Marshal hailing from Boston who is assigned to a case that sends him to a remote insane asylum located on an island off the coastline of Massachusetts. He is joined by a fellow Marshal hailing from Seattle, Washington. An early warning sign has flagged Mr. Daniels’s inability to remember simple details about his new found partner such as the city and state from which he lives and works. Regardless if he is able to remember or not the minor details about his partner the audience is not expecting to be concerned over such triviality.

There is one minor detail about the film, which was distracting me. Although it is nothing more than a tiny speck within the grand scheme of the production, I noticed that it was preventing me from being completely immersed in the story. When there is a large collection of cameo appearances within a film, especially by a group of recognizable faces, I begin to play a game of “Where’s Waldo” by pointing out as many recognizable cameo appearances as possible. This would serve more as a distraction to me than it would be as a positive contribution for the film to draw in a group of high quality talent to produce a valuable production. Many of the cameos are portrayed by character actors, which means I was spending a bit of time wondering which movies I have seen them in before, but unable to completely remember their names. One particular heavyweight of a distraction in the movie was Ted “Buffalo Bill” Levine who portrays the prison warden. His screen time is relatively brief, but he packs quite a memorable impression on the audience with his raspy voice that prattles on the topic of criminally violent behavior. If you have ever watched The Silence of the Lambs (1991) in conjunction with this film you would immediately see the interesting connection between his roles for each film.

Although it is commonly perceived at face value to be a horror film, it is clear to me that Shutter Island would be more intriguing to be watched as film noir more than any other style of cinematic storytelling. I walked away from the movie with a positive experience that I actually enjoyed watching it. After speaking with an acquaintance I marked the observation that the film is clearly not for everyone’s personal enjoyment. Although it is directed by renowned film director Martin Scorsese, there are some stories that are produced by talented people who are unable to please everyone. After all, it would be worthwhile for me to admit here that I feel like one of the very few people who shrugged off The Departed (2006) as a dull film overburdened by excessive violence.