Hey

Just wanted to touch base with you all out there in Blogland. I know I haven't been posting much, but I'm going to make an effort to do so more often. Tomorrow I'll be attending the Texas Frightmare Weekend, so I'll most likely have lots of pics to post, if nothing else.

Hope you're all doing well out there. Take care!

The Beast's DVD Cave- Lo (2008)

A man sits in a darkened room, painting a pentagram which he sits inside of. He follows instructions from a decidedly evil-looking book (which would fit perfectly next to a copy of the Necronomicon). He also has with him a photo of a pretty woman. He follows the instructions in the book, and summons up a demon from the pits of Hell- the demon Lo ( Jeremiah W. Birkett).

This is the beginning of the movie Lo, directed by Travis Betz. It tells the story of Justin (played by Ward Roberts), the guy in the pentagram. He's summoned Lo because the love of his life, April ( Sarah Lassez), has been taken away by demons, and he wants her back. Things, however, are not as simple as they seem...trying to get a demon to do your bidding is dicey, especially so for a nerdy fellow like Justin, and if he strays from the protecticve circle, he'll be at Lo's mercy. Will Justin get Lo to do his bidding? Will he be able to outsmart the demon's trickery? Will he get his April back?

Lo is a great little film, and calling it 'little' is by no means derogatory in this case. It's a good example for filmmakers(and filmgoers) that shows you can make a fine , entertaining movie with a smaller budget. Lo is by turns creepy, funny, sad, and it illustrates the power of love, and what we'll do in its name.

One of the film's strong points is its actors. Roberts does a good job in the role of Justin, nerdy but determined to get back his love. Lassez also gets a gold star for her portrayal of April, a strange, naive , yet charming gal. The real show stealer in my opinion, however, is Birkett as the titular demon. Lo is scary, but he's also a smartass, and has most of the film's funniest lines. He, in true demon fashion, tries not to fullfill Justin's wishes, but it turns out that there's more to him than meets the eye...

In addition to directing Lo, Betz also wrote and edited the film. There's a lot of cool little touches, such as when Lo pulls memories out of Justin's head to get to know he and April's relationship. Instead of the usual flashback scenes, the memories are played out on a stage like a play, complete with people visible in the wings, and audible audience reactions (there's also a pair of living Comedy/Tragedy masks flanking the stage, which are both humorous and creepy at the same time). There's also a musical number , believe it or not, delivered 50s do-wop style. After seeing Lo, it makes me want to track down Betz's other work, and I'm eagerly awaiting his next film as well.

As I stated earlier, Lo is a great little film. It has more character, creepiness, and charm than just about any big-bugeted film out there...or any size budget, for that matter. If you want to see a film with horror, humor, love, and a dancing rat-demon, look no further. Go track down a copy and check it out (hint: Netflix has it). The Beast gives it his official seal of approval. Go watch it already!

The Beast's DVD Cave- Dead Snow

Dead Snow (2009) is just what the doctor ordered. Amidst all the CGI-infested flicks that have come out lately, Norwegian writer/director Tommy Wirkola has delivered a good, fun, splattery zombie movie. And not just any zombies, but Nazi zombies.

The film starts with some one being pursued through the dark, snowy, Norweigian night by...something. She doesn't get far. The next day we see a group of medical students including Vergard (Lasse Vendal), Hanna (Charlotte Frogner), Martin (Vegar Hoel), and Roy (Stig Frode Henriksen), who are on their way to a remote cabin to enjoy some Winter outdoor fun and some indoor partying. A stranger passing by tells them of the evil that remains since the days of WWII; of a group of Nazis and their treasure. The young students of course write the man off as a loony, but when one of their group who was skiing to the cabin doesn't show, a search is made, and discoveries show that the strange man wasn't full of shit, and the group is in danger by the hands of a group of undead Nazi soldiers.

Dead Snow is a film that's very aware of its genre. One of the characters is a film buff, and even wears a t-shirt of Peter Jackson's blood-soaked Braindead(aka Dead Alive), and like Jackson's film,there's a good dose of humor along with the horror. There's the usual young folks partying and trying (and even succeeding) to get laid. There's an Evil Dead-esque scene when two of the students go to a tool shed and arm themselves for the inevitable zombie battle. However, Dead Snow isn't just a rip-off, or a simple love-letter to the genre. It stands on it's own, and though it may owe much to those that have gone before it, it has its own feel and style.

One of the elements that sets Dead Snow apart from other zombie films is the setting. There's quite a few shots of the beautiful snow-covered surroundings, which make an interesting counterpoint to the horror lurking just over the sonw-capped hills. It also reminds me of another Norwegian export, that being the musical genre known as Black Metal. Norwegian bands such as Emperor sing songs about the Norwegian night sky and the majesty of it, but the message is delivered in a brutal fashion. Maybe being in such a cold, beautiful place inspires artists in differing media. At any rate , it does make a nice change from the usual urban, pastoral farmhouse. and island settings usually seen in the zombie genre.

Nazi zombies have lumbered across the screen before Dead Snow. The 1977 film Shock Waves gave us some creepy aquatic Nazi zombies, along with veteran actor Peter Cushing. There was also the 1966 feature The Frozen Dead, which had Nazi scientists keeping parts of soldiers alive for nefarious reasons. The undead soldiers of Dead Snow are appropriatley scary, especially their leader, whom has a great scene towards the end of the film when our heroes think that the laeder is the only remaining zombie(hint: they're very wrong).

Another nice difference is that the protagonists are characters I actually felt for...I cared about their survival, unlike the idiots populating most horror films. I usually find myself rooting for the 'villian'. There is one scene in particular (which I won't divulge) that is tragic, and it happens on the heels of a run of fun, zombie-killing antics, which makes it all the more horrifying, and brings home the fact that these poor folks aren't playing a game; they're fighting for survival, and death is a very real outcome for them all.

All in all, Dead Snow is a damn good film. It's referential without ripping off , it's funny , tragic, bloody, and ridiculous at times. Simply put, it's a great little horror film, and it's just what we horror fans need, not more damn remakes. I tell you, the U.S. horror film product is getting its collective ass kicked by our foriegn friends. Go see it, already.

Now's when a chainsaw would come in handy...

The Beast's DVD Cave- Inferno (1980)

Rose ( Irene Miracle) is living in New York and researching an old book titled 'The Three Mothers'. It tells of the Mothers, powerful and dark witches, and their houses, built for them by an alchemist, one in Rome, one in Germany, and one in New York. Rose wants to discover the secrets hinted at in the book, but someone wants them to remain secret. Rose's brother Mark ( Leigh McCloskey) gets pulled into the web of secrets and magic, and comes to see his sister, who is missing when he arrives. Will Mark find out his sister's fate? Will he escape death at the hands of the killer lurking about? Can he find the answer to the riddle in the old book in time to solve the mystery, or will he become another victim ?

Inferno is the second film in the Three Mothers Trilogy directed by Italian Horror maestro Dario Argento, coming out a few years after the first entry, Suspiria (1977). Like the first film, Inferno is an atmospheric film with strange and sometimes surreal touches throughout . The use of colors, partiuclarly red and blue, resembles Suspiria. However,this film is less a fairytale gone wrong than its predecessor...it seems more like an urban gothic horror tale, with its scenes taking place in brownstones and buildings, streets and alleyways. Even a trip to a mailbox at night seems frought with menace...nothing actually happens to Rose as she mails the letter to Mark, but it seems as though something bad easily could (and eventually does).

Inferno is fulled with bizarre setpieces and strange and possibly symbolic images,which is appropriate, since alchemy figures into the story(alchemists often avoided actually writing their works in words, instead using images to symbolize their works and discoveries). One such scene has Rose going down some stairs underneath the building she lives in, and finding a hole in the floor which is filled with water. She drops her keychain into the hole, and has to dive into the watery abyss to retrieve them. Once down the 'rabbit hole', as it were, she discovers an ornate room completely submerged in the water...unfortunately for her, there are also some decomposing bodies floating about down there as well. Rose's brother Mark also goes down into his own 'abyss' later in the film, as he goes beneath the floor of Rose's apartment. Another reoccuring motif is bleeding hands. Sara ( Eleonora Giorgio), Mark's classmate in Rome, cuts her hand as leaves a taxi that drops her off at an old library. Rose cuts her hand on a glass doorknob when trying to escape a shadowy figure pursuing her. These bleeding hands serve as a forshadowing of these characters' dark futures, or perhaps sort of a stigmata-like purpose.

Animals also serve as symbols of mystery and magic in Inferno. Cats abound in the film, which makes sense, as cats have always represented magic and witchcraft. Rats also turn up, when the antique dealer whose shop is next door to the mysterious building where Rose lives takes a sack full of cats to drown. The shopkeeper is attacked by rats ( and if you ask me, the fucker deserved it), and then finished of by a malevolent deli worker ( I know how weird that sounds, but this is a weird movie, after all). There are also shots of lizards eating moths which add to the overall creepiness factor. Another creepy touch, though non-animal related, is a scene of the killer's black-gloved hands making a chain of paper dolls, then cutting the heads off. One of my favorite scenes ( which would also appeal to all you book fans out there, I'm sure) isn't that scary initially, but it takes lace in the library Sara goes to. It's an old-school library, with shelves and shelves of books...my first thought was 'I'd love to check that place out.' The visit soon turns sinister, though, when Sara discovers an alchemist's lair in the library( I'd stil love to check out that place).

Another piece of the puzzle that is Inferno is the soundtrack, which was done by Keith Emerson, of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer fame. It's a combination of rock, jazz, and classical (with appearances by Verdi). It's an odd combo, but it works here.

What doesn't work for me, and really is my only gripe about Inferno , is the main 'actor', McClosky. He's dull and wooden, and seems like we'd be more at home in a men's wear catalog instead of attempting to act. I find it hard to care about his character's survival while watching the movie, honestly.

Actor choices aside, I really like Inferno. It's artful, violent, mysterious, strange, and magical. It's vintage Argento at his artistic prime. It's a classic, and one of my favorites. Go watch it, already.

"The only true mystery is that our very lives are governed by dead people."

Magni Pics Of The Week

Here's some more pics of my new pup Magni.

These are for Magni's number one fan in Blogland, Lana. :)

The Beast's DVD Cave- Mother Of Tears

An ancient coffin is found and is sent to a museum in Rome. Sara Mandy (Asia Argento) is there when it's opened (note: when an old casket is found with several crosses chained to it, you probably shouldn't open it). The opening of the coffin releases the evil of a powerful witch known as Mater Lachrymarum, or the Mother of Tears.

As the ancient witch's power grows, her spell is cast across Rome, inciting people to commit acts of evil. from all over the world, witches gather in Rome to worship the Mother and the approaching age of darkness and sorrow.

Sara, a logical and practical person, must deal with the unreal and supernatural events around her...and she must do so soon, for the Mother's cult is after her for some reason. What is Sara's connection to the witch, and what is her connection to the realm of the Supernatural? Will she be able to leave her world of logic and normalcy and embrace the Magical world? Or will she become a sacrifice to the Mother of Tears?

Mother of Tears (2007), directed by Italian Horror master Dario Argento, is the final film in a trilogy started in 1977 with Suspiria, followed in 1980 with Inferno. Known as The Three Mothers Trilogy, the films concern three witches- Mater Suspiriorum ( Mother of Sighs), Mater Tenebrarum (Mother of Darkness), and Mater Lachrymarum. concieved by Argento and Daria Nicolodi (Argento's former wife and Asia Argento's mother), the series is based on the writings of Thomas de Quincey, and is a mix of alchemy, magic, and , of course, horror.

The third entry is a good one. The acting by lead player Asia Argento is well done, as is most of the cast. Genre fave Udo Kier makes an appearance as a priest trying to help Sara in her struggle against the Witch. Daria Nicolodi also turns up as Sara's mother, making this film a family affair. Argento's trademark violence is in full force in this film, as Mater Lachrymarum's evil reaches across Rome, and persues Sara and her allies. Blood flows freely, and people die in nasty ways, so if you have a weak stomach, avoid this film...but if you're a Horror fan, there's much to sink you teeth into here. As much as I do like this film, I still have reservations about it.

Argento's Suspiria is one of my favorite films..for my review of it, take a look at my 2008 write-up (http://scott-blogofthebeast.blogspot.com/2008/10/halloween-horrors-suspiria.html).

Suspiria is an amazing film...it's as artistic as it is horrific. It truly is a magical film. Inferno, while not as great as its predecessor, is also a special film nonetheless. Mother of Tears, while a good film, seems a bit too...Hollywood, I think. Sure, there's the use of color that the two earlier films had, and the stylized violence and death scenes, and the presence of the supernatural, but I think that Mother lacks the feel of surreality that the prior films possess. The dream (or nightmare)-like setpieces that the earlier films boast have no counterparts in this latest film. For example, the first murder in the brightly-colored hotel in Suspiria, or the ballroom submerged in water in Inferno...there simply aren't any such otherworldly scenes in Mother. Yes, it is a good horror film, and it is better than the surge of remakes that have come from Hollywood of late, but for a film about magic, Mother lacks any.

Why is this film not as special as the earlier entires in the series? I think Time has something to do with it, possibly. The other two films were made over twenty years ago. Maybe there has been too much time between parts...after all, look at the Star Wars series. The first three were pretty good, but the latest three were pretty much gaudy CGI-infested crap, with none of the heart or spirit that the earlier films had( it's words like that that piss off my pals who are SW fans, but hey, the truth hurts). Maybe George Lucas simply doesn't have the same creative spirit he had back then. Or, maybe too much time has passed between chapters. I think that had he made the next three films back in the day, thye would have been radically different, and more than likely much better as well. I believe the same goes for Argento here. I feel that most of the good films from the 70's and early 80's had a different vibe to them, a different feel and spirit about them. Some of these aspects are products of the times ( the color and overall look of Suspiria for example, was due to the use of some remaining Technicolor film stock...still, with digital film effetcs, I bet one could recreate that look). Or maybe there's only so many times you can catch lightning in a bottle.

I wouldn't be so hard on Mother had I never seen the previous entires in the trilogy...as I said, it is a good horror film (and I did buy a copy). If you have never seen any of these, maybe you should watch them in reverse order. At any rate, if you like horror, check out Mother of Tears...it's a fun, bloody, dark ride. Then, go see Inferno and Suspiria, and experience some real cinematic magic.

Magni

Here's a pic of Magni that I took today. He's growing like a weed already, so I'm taking lots of pics while he's still little.

Hope you all had a good weekend, and a great week ahead!