The Beast's Movie Cave- The Holy Mountain

Alejandro Jodorowsky , director of El Topo ( see my previous entry on this film), made a film in 1973 titled The Holy Mountain. Like El Topo before it, The Holy Mountain is a surreal film full of symbolism, mysticism, and just plain weirdness, for lack of a better term.

The story follows a thief ( Hector Salinas), who meets an alchemist (Jordorowsky) , becoming his disciple. Seven more people are gathered, each representing a different planet. The group is trained in mystical ways for their quest-to go to the Holy Mountain, and gain immortality from the wise men there.

Like most surreal films, the plot summary sounds fairly straightforward. It's the execution that puts the film in a different class than most. Symbols and mystic imagery abound here, inspired by Catholicism, Eastern religions, alchemy, and the Tarot. For example, in the beginning of the film, the Alchemist performs a ritual based on the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Later, after the Thief is 'reborn', he's made drunk by some people who use his Christ-like countenance to make life-sized Jesus staues. The Thief awakes on a large pile of potatoes, surrounded by dozens of Christs, and begins to scream at his betrayal. Still later, the Thief meets the Alchemist by climbing a golden hook up into a tower, inspired by the Tarot card 'The Tower'. More Tarot imagery is found within the Alchemist's tower as well.

Some images , I think, are just straight from Jodorowsky's wild imagination. There's a room with a table, both shaped like an eye, in the Alchemist's tower, for example. A student, when shot to death by fascist government soldiers, has small birds fly out of his gaping chest wounds. Wax effegies are a recurring motif, with the Thief carrying around one of the Christ statues that most resembles him (later eating it's face and tying balloons to it, sending it skyward), and later , in the Alchemist's tower, wax effegies of the seven 'Planet' people, which they ceremonially burn. There is also a circus that re-enacts the Spanish invasion of Mexico using lizards as the Aztecs, complete with feathered headdresses, spears and shields, and frogs portraying the Spanish, decked out in monks robes and conquistador armor.

With scenes like these, this obviously isn't your typical film. I really enjoyed The Holy Mountain. Besides the strangeness and symbolism, there's also a good helping of humor and satire, as well as some wisdom to be had. I wouldn't necessarily want all movies to be like this one, but I'm glad that such films do exist...they're a breath of fresh (and weird) air on the cinematic landscape.

The DVD has some cool extras. There's a bit that shows how the film was remastered, and they did an excelent job. Another extra that I enjoyed was the one on the Tarot, with Jordorowsky explaining the cards and his fascination with them. Probably the most interesting extra was the director's commentary...it was cool to watch the film and then re-watch it with the commentary and see what Jordorowsky had in mind when making the film. In addition to what some of the symbolism means, he also gives info such as why the Alchemist has big boots...not because it was the '70s, but because he liked Frankenstein!

Though not as violent as El Topo, there is a fair amount of violence, as well as nudity and various sexual situations. As I said earlier, there's also quite a few scenes with Christian imagery involved, and not always in a traditional manner...in other words, there's something to potentially offend everyone here, so be forwarned.

If you liked El Topo, you will most likely enjoy The Holy Mountain. If you're willing to take a trip ( which is an appropriate term, in this case) into a mystical, surreal world, check out The Holy Mountain. It's an interesting, artistic, and thought-provoking cinematic journey. The beast gives it his seal of approval. Go watch it.

" It's easy to enter another world if you set your mind to it. Just jump into the void. "

-Alejandro Jodorowsky

The Beast's Movie Cave- Severed Ways- The Norse Discovery Of America

Hail, All! I've had PC problems, and been on a much-needed vacation, but I'm back, and I've watched a lot of movies...Severed Ways being one of the more interesting ones.

This film tells the story of two Norsemen, Ord( played by Tony Stone, who also wrote and directed the film), and Volnard ( Fiore Tedesco), who are stranded in what will later be known as North America. The Norse, who arrived there hundreds of years before that Colombus guy, tried to set up shop there, but ran afoul of the natives, or 'Skraelings', as the called them. A huge battle took place, and the Norse decided to pull up stakes and head out. Ord and Volnard were sent into the woods to scout , and were assumed dead, therefore left behind. Severed Ways tells of their struggle for survival, which not only deals with finding food and shelter, but encounters with the Skraelings, a pair of Irish priests, spirituality, religion, and ultimately each other.

Severed Ways is not yout typical Viking movie. While the backdrop of Nature in the film is of epic proportions (more on that later),the story ityself is not of the epic scope one usually sees in a Viking movie. The story isn't about lords or kings, or revenge, or a treasure hunt, but simply about two guys left behind in a strange land, dealing with the outer and inner problems they face. The film's website ( http://www.severedways.com/) describes the story as an 'inward adventure', and that's a pretty good way to put it, I think. The way the film was shot also marks it as a different kind of Viking movie. It was shot digitally, using only available light, giving it almost an indie/documentary feel at times ( this is definately an indie film, after all). There is also very little dialog in the film, and when there is its in Old Norse, subtitled in English. The soundtrack is unique as well, with instrumentals by Brian Eno and Popol Vuh, as well as music by Judas Priest, Dimmu Borgir, Burzum, and Morbid Angel. The inclusion of this music may seem jarring when put with the primitive scenery and setting, but it actually works , especially the Black Metal bands.

The landscape in this film is breathtaking. It was shot in West Virginia and Newfoundland, primarily, and there are many scenes of beauty to counterbalance the overall grittiness of the story. One such scene that comes to mind is Volnard's flashback, where he follows his sister to her meeting with her lover, who is a Christian. The violent and tragic result of this event is a counterpoint to the natural beauty around the characters...but then, Nature has been witness to all sorts of human drama, I suppose. This flashback also gives us some backstory that goes toward explaining Volnard's sparing of one of the priests they stumble upon (Ord, strongly of the old-school worship of Odin and Thor, is not so gracious to the other priest), and his subsequent intoduction to Christianity.

I've read several reviews of Severed Ways, and I disagree with a lot of them. Many reviewers didn't like the fact that the subtitles were in modern English , such as when they're on the shore and decide to move inland, or they'll be "toast". I didn't have a problem with it, myself...I think that because of old Hollywood films, we expect people in period pieces to say 'thee' and 'thou' a lot. I'm pretty sure they didn't talk quite like that. Another so-called 'critic' claimed that Ord said Odin's name so many times you could make a drinking game out of it. I watched this film twice, and I only caught about 3 or 4 times Odin's name was invoked...since the character was a worshipper of the Norse gods, this was in character and not overdone. I think that some critics are too busy trying to make snarky comments in an attempt to seem clever and miss the film they're supposed to be watching. I think, too, that the subject of Vikings is similar to the Metal music used in the film's soundtrack...either you get it or you don't, and often those who don't feel the need to ridicule it, in a vain attempt to seem cool or clever. Guess what-you're neither. Then again, these are two subjects close to my heart, so I may be a bit biased. Ok, end of rant.

Obviously, I liked Severed Ways. There were a few things I didn't like. One, the shaky camera work at the film's beginning , which settles down, thankfully. I also could have done without the scene where Ord takes a dump in the woods...I know they were striving for gritty authenticity, but I think we all assumed that like bears, Viking shit in the woods, and didn't have to have visual proof. These instances aside, I felt that this was an interesting and unique film. On the DVD there's also some atmospheric footage of the elements, which is kind of a cool extra, especially for those of us without fireplaces ...just pop the disc in and watch 'Fire'.

If you're up for an unusual Viking film that's violent, beautiful, harsh, and lyrical in turns, then give Severed Ways a try. It comes with the Beast's Seal of Approval...so go get a shank of beef and a horn full of mead, and watch.

The Beast's Movie Cave- Martyrs

When you watch the director's introduction on a DVD and he tells you that you may have selected the wrong movie, and apologises for making the film, you know that you're in for a cinematic experience that's out of the ordinary. I'd read about French director Pascal Laugier's film Martyrs...it's been described as 'existential torture porn', and that viewers at screenings ran out, vomited, and fainted. After reading all this, I decided this was a film I had to see. The French have been producing some powerful horror films lately( Inside comes to mind), leaving our own U.S. made remakes and kiddie-horror-lite flicks like Twilight looking like the weak-ass efforts they are...comparing them to films like Martyrs and Inside is like drinking a glass of watery Kool-Aid and chasing it with a glass of 100 proof vodka...one is weak and unsatisfying, the other kicks you in the ass and makes you wonder if you should have even drank it in the first place.

Martyrs opens with a young girl escaping captivity...she has obviously been tortured. She makes a friend at the orphanage she is sent to. 15 years later, the former captive, Lucie (Mylene Jampanoi) finds who she believes to be the ones that tortured her years ago, and takes violent retribution, not only on her torturers, but their family as well. Her friend, Anna( Morjana Alaoui), trying to help her, is brought into this bloody scene of revenge . Anna doubts Lucie's judgement in locating her former tormentors, because said torment has left Lucie mentally tortured long after the physical wounds have healed, and her sanity is , well, questionable, to say the least. After yet another tragic and bloody episode, Anna learns that although Lucie's sanity is shattered, there is a dark and disturbing group working in the shadows, and the acts of torture are far from over...perhaps worse, the torture has a twisted reasoning behind it ...to get closer to God.

Martyrs , as the title suggests, works with the old belief that pain and suffering, and being on the precipice of death because of it, brings one closer to God, and through being near such a person, one can possibly catch a glimpse of the other side, and maybe God himself. Near the film's end we are given the definition of the word martyr, essentially being 'witness'. I think that it's this underlying theme that brings the film a few notches above your average 'capture -people-and-torture-them' flick...the director actually had ideas in his head (dark as they were), and I think it shows.

Ideas notwithstanding, Martyrs is an extremely dark and violent film, and much of it it is hard to watch . I don't necessarily enjoy violence done to women, even if it's imaginary...I'm ingrained with a sort of rough chivalry(I think it's due to repeated viewings of old swashbuckler movies as a kid ...so blame Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn), so it was a bit of an excersize in cinematic intestinal fortitude to view a lot of the scenes in this film. Laugier has said in interviews that he was in a very dark place when he made this film, and it definately shows. Even though it was difficult to get through parts, I would much rather be challenged as a viewer and have a director be able to get his vision across, that to sit numbed and bored by the latest sanitized, mindless, PG-13 concoction Hollywood has to offer. Mind you, I'm not against a no-brainer, fun, 'popcorn' movie, but once in a while it's good to watch something that actually makes you think and feel, even if it's not shiny, happy feelings and thoughts.

The acting in Martyrs was very well done. The leads Jampanoi and Alaoui had very intense and physical performances. The sadness, fear, rage, shock, and horror that the young women go through is strong and even heartbreaking at times. A standout scene for me is one where Lucie expresses her rage , hammer in hand...like most of the film, it is not for the squeamish.

If you're looking for a whimsical, carefree, feel-good movie, this is not the one for you...go find the latest Matthew McConeghey celluloid offering instead. However, if you are up to a dark, challenging film experience, give Martyrs a go...and , as always, feel free to come back here and discuss it with me...or curse my existence for even suggesting such a film, heh. Either way, I'll be waiting. Oh, the version I saw was unrated...I don't know if there's an edited version out there, but don't bother with it if there is...if you're going to see it, there's no sense in half-assing it.

" The only thing I can say is that the actual world is so shitty that horror is the perfect genre to express the most honest and concrete things, things that say a lot about our real lives. This is contrary to what television programs constantly do. Doing a feel-good movie right now, considering the state of the world and the brutality of our system, would disgust me. I'd take it as a self-betryal. More than ever, horror should embody the absolute escape from the lies of official society. The genre has a great opportunity to be really countercultural again after years of having been softened by the cynical postmodernism of our times. That's my feeling, anyhow."

-Pascal Laugier, writer/director of Martyrs, from Rue Morgue magazine

The Beast's Movie Cave-El Topo

Today was, for most of the day anyway, a grey, rainy one...perfect for a movie! I watched El Topo (1970), the first Midnight Movie, directed, written , and starring Alejandro Jodorowski. I'd heard it was strange, and it was not lacking in the weirdness department. The only other film by him I'd seen to date was Santa Sangre(1989), which also was heavy on the weirdness...which is fine by me.

(Looks kinda like Yellowbeard here! )

El Topo (The Mole) is the story of a gunslinger on a quest for spirituality and God, essentially. The film is full of strange imagery, incorportaing Catholocism and Eastern religions as well as other symbolic images into a bizarre cinematic experience. There is also a good-sized helping of sexual themes, as well as violence, with pools and streets literally running red with blood at times( in the DVD extras, Jodorowski says "You cannot make a mystical picture without violence").

The film is full of striking images, such as the beginning, where El Topo has his son bury his first toy and his Mother's picture, his son standing with the monks he has left him with, the aforementioned streets of blood, a crucified dead goat, a collapsing tower, an underground city of deformed people, not to mention the look of El Topo himself, clad all in black. The backgrounds where the movie was shot are nothing less than beautiful,too.

It's supposed to be a shocking film, and I suppose it was back in the day, but I didn't find it all that shocking...I've seen a lot of strange films. I guess I could have done without El Topo's son running around with no pants on, though. It definately is a weird and bizarre movie, to be sure. I do like a surreal film now and again, although it may not be to everyone's tastes. If you're used to straightforward narratives and over-explained storylines, this isn't the movie for you. Also, I suppose some may find the religious imagery offensive, as well as the sex and violence. For those looking for a different viewing experience, though, El Topo might be an interesting change of pace.

The film has been unavailable on DVD or VHS for years. The director and the producer had a falling out 30 years ago, thus holding up the release of the film. They recently patched up their differences, and now it's been remastered on a nice DVD release with a sharp image transfer.

If you have a craving for a surreal, spiritual, violent, mystical cinematic experience, check out El Topo.

Day At The Movies With The Beast-Watchmen

I saw the film Watchmen today. I'm a big fan of the graphic novel it's based on, and I initially wondered if a film of it would be any good. Well, I did like it, quite a bit, actually.

The film tells the story of heroes and former heroes in an alternate 1985. The government has outlawed masked vigilantes, and most are either retired (like NiteOwl and Silk Spectre), or working for the government (like Dr. Manhattan and The Comedian). One hero, Rorscharch, still operates on the streets, and he gets involved when The Comedian is killed. A mystery is there to be solved, and a conspiracy to be discovered, all with the shadow of nuclear war hanging overhead.

I liked Watchmen...the costumes and effects were great, and the acting was well done, especially Rorscharch, played by Jackie Earl Haley. Rorscharch was one of my favorite characters from the book, and Haley brings him to scary, uncompromising life. The film stays very close to the original book...this is a very adult look at superheroes, and there is violence, sex, and other adult situations, so this is definately not a kid-friendly flick. The one major difference from the film and the book is the ending...purists may not like it, and I have mixed feelings abut it myself, but all in all it's pretty faithful to the source material.

If you're in the mood for a dark tale of very human superheroes, check out Watchmen. I give it four out of five clawmarks.

The Beast's Movie Cave-Tokyo Gore Police

With a title like 'Tokyo Gore Police', you can kind of tell what kind of viewing experience you're in for. Well, This one delivers in spades, not only in the red stuff, but the overall weirdness factor as well.

The police force in Japan has been privatized. Wearing outfits that resemble a cross between riot gear and samurai armor, the new police take a hard stand against crime...in their TV commercials, we see the police execute a serial rapist. This tough law enforcement group has worse things to deal with, however. Killers known as 'Engineers' are running rampant in Tokyo. These crazed killers are even more dangerous when wounded...their wounds become strange body weapons(like chainsaws), and they are extremely hard to kill, unless you destroy the key-shaped tumor that lies within their bodies, put there by the mysterious Keyman( Itsuji Itao). Policewoman Ruka ( Eihi Shina, who was also in 'Audition'), the toughest cop on the force, and an ace swordswoman, is the best Engineer Hunter on the squad. What is her connection to the Keyman, and can she stop the rising number of Engineers in the city? What will happen when the police start executing anyone they even slightly suspect of being an Engineer? And what other dark secrets from her past will surface?

Directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura, 'Toyo Gore Police' is a crazed, blood-soaked adventure that combines action, ridiculously violent setpieces, S&M, film artistry, and a bit of social commentary to make one wild cinematic stew. There are mutations and perversions galore, not to mention blood by the gallon. The blood and gore rises to cartoonish levels, like in Peter Jackson's Dead Alive (see my October entry on this film). One scene in particular combines the cinematic and the silly, when Ruka, diguised as a prostitute, is groped on a train. She grabs the groper and drags him off the train. While he is pleading for mercy, she pulls her sword out of her parasol and amputates his grabby hands. While he holds his stumps up and screams, blood spraying like a sprinkler system in the background, Ruka, parasol opened to keep the sanguinal spray from hitting her, calmly walks toward the foreground, all in slow motion.

There's a lot of crazed visual special effetcs going on here, with the mutations of the Engineers, such as a woman with a venus-flytrap/alligator mouth for a bottom half, a snail-girl, and an amputee sex slave fitted with samurai sword blades on her stumps, running about like a deadly spider. Oh, let's not forget the Engineer that sprays acid from her nipples, burning the skin off a policewoman's face, leaving a steaming skull. There's also a living chair with some important female parts, and a policeman turned Engineer , who after having his , uh, member violently removed( definately a hard-to-watch-moment for the male audience members...well, it was for me, anyway), is equipped with a large replacement that acts as a gun. OK, I'm not making this up, really.

On the downside, some of the effects are not the best, but given the budget, I'm OK with that. The movie doesn't seem to take itself completely seriously anyway, except for when the police start killing whoever they damn well feel like , which has echoes of real-life events as of late( especially in Greece and California...see the blog Inexorable in my bloglist for a post on this, if you're not up to speed) . But aside from this bit of social commentary, this film is one crazy, gory, twisted ride. If you are easily offended, or are put off by cinematic weirdness, this is definately not the film for you. But if you like wild action, blood , strangeness, and offbeat humor, then check out 'Tokyo Gore Police'. The Beast gives it 4 clawmarks out of 5. See it if you can.

Movie Night With The Beast- Let The Right One In

I went to the movies tonight and saw Let The Right One In, a Swedish vampire film. I caught it at a local theater called the Bijou, which specializes in foreign and art films. They also have a sizable menu, including everything from standard movie fare like popcorn and nachos to salads, burgers, wine, beer, and Starbucks coffee. I had read a lot about this film, and everything I read was positive, which is rare. I didn't think it would make it to my neck of the woods, because such films are hit-or-miss here, but I picked up a copy of the local independent newspaper(The Current) and saw an ad for it. I knew what I was doing this weekend after reading that...and I was not dissapointed.

The movie is about a young boy named Oskar ( Kare Hedebrant) who is bullied regularly at school. He dreams of violent retaliation, but doesn't follow through with it. One night, he sees a man with a young girl move in to his apartment building. The man puts cardboard over all the windows for some reason. On one cold Winter evening, Oskar is out in the courtyard, stabbing a tree with his knife, fantasizing of revenge on his tormentors, when he meets the new neighbor girl Eli ( Lina Leandersson). Eli is also twelve years "or so" old. At first she is standoffish with Oskar, but the two start to form a friendship. Eli also doesn't seem to feel the cold, sitting outside in the Swedish Winter night without a coat.

We soon learn that Eli is a vampire, who has been twelve years old "for a long time", and the man living with her is a servant of sorts, his job being to procure blood for her by killing townspeople. He proves to be inept at this, and Eli is forced to get her own meals. Eli and Oskar's relationship becomes closer, with Eli giving Oskar the courage to stand up to his tormentors, and Eli finding someone to care about in Oskar. Oskar eventually learns Eli's true nature. How will he react to this revelation? Will the townspeople find out what Eli really is? Will Oskar be able to escape the bullies' plan for revenge against him?

Let The Right One In, directed by Tomas Alfredson, is a very different vampire film. This is evident right from the opening credits, which play over a black background with complete silence, eventually turning into a serene snowfall. There are many shots of the snow and ice on the trees and buildings, and these are truly beautiful. The Swedish Winter is a unique backdrop for a vampire film, its quiet beauty and isolation adding emphasis to the characters' initial emotional isolation. The white Winter backdrop also makes anything with color pop out...there's a scene where Oskar gives Eli a Rubik's Cube to play with, and it's so colorful in comparison to the snowy backdrop that it fairly blasts out like a beacon.The same quiet beauty is also in sharp contrast to the sudden bursts of violence and horror that punctuate the film. There's blood shed in this film, and its fairly graphic and nasty. Throats are cut and bitten, blood is drank, and limbs are severed. Especially gruesome is the scene towards the end of the film at the pool...I won't say any more, as I don't want to spoil it for anyone. Let's just say if you like graphic violence in your horror movies, this scene will put a smile on your demented little face.

I also want to mention the use of sound in the film. Overall it's a fairly quiet film, but there are moments when you can hear things, like Eli's growls or her making sounds of hunger. I think it's a good example of a filmmaker using all the elements of film at his disposal to make something unique and artistic.

There are so many noteworthy moments in this film...we see what happens when a vampire enters a home uninvited, for example. We also see how a vampire's helper, who is about to be caught due to carelessness, makes himself unrecognizable with a jar of acid. We learn that cats do not like vampires at all. And, on a more humanistic note, we see how these two young (at least one is young-looking) outsiders meet and go from lonely outcasts to two lost souls who care deeply for one another.

Let The Right One In is not only a good vampire film, but a good film period. I'm sure that Twilight will make tons of cash off of the teen crowd that eats that kind of stuff up, and it may even be a good flick for what it is...but if you want to see what a real filmmaker can do with the form , and with vampires, check out Let The Right One In. If it's not playing in your town, rent it as soon as it comes out on DVD. Apparently it's going to be re-made by some American studio, which means it'll lose any uniqueness the original possesses, and be just like every other film out there, and it'll have a 99.9% chance of sucking big time. If you can, go see it. The Beast gives it five out of five clawmarks.