Halloween Spooktacular

[The Cat]

I wish we had more info in that article. The only thing we have detail on is info on the initiation process, really.

I just found out the director of the Color Out of Space was the original director of the Marlon Brando Island of Dr. Moreau. There's even a documentary about it. That might be a November watch....

Its a rabbit hole. Studying Occult stuff typically is though. Similar to philosophy one wonders at the rivalries and revelries that made certain ones take off where, with whom, when and how.

 

[Totenkindly]

Its a rabbit hole. Studying Occult stuff typically is though. Similar to philosophy one wonders at the rivalries and revelries that made certain ones take off where, with whom, when and how.

well hell, that goes for regular religious sects as well. Any belief system.

 

[The Cat]

well hell, that goes for regular religious sects as well. Any belief system.

Its just particularly fascinating with the occult because of the relative recentness of its origins and all the various ways different sects and affiliations piece together the mysteries of their herritage whether it be rooted in ancient religious record, oral tradition, familial tradition, or whether it comes from totally modern ideals of certain archetypes.

Yes I agree all religion and spirituality and mythology is fascinating in this regard. Its one of those special subjects that only gets more interesting to me the more i learn and observe about it. I think its why i always enjoyed humanities and mythology classes and why i had more patience with sunday school than the other kids.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Day 31: Army of Darkness

Summary: A man is sent back in time to the Middle Ages to do battle with a demonic horde, and there is much rejoicing.

I was always going to pick a lighter movie to close this out. I felt this was more of a sure bet in the "lightness" department than the other film I was considering, which I had never seen. I appreciated its short length, too.

This movie is extremely silly. Intentionally so. Walking skeletons make bone puns. The hero builds contraptions that are futuristic by today's standards because he has science and engineering textbooks in his car. General Evil Ash is bonked in the head and his eyeballs spin like a slot machine, etc...

I'm extremely curious about why both Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson made movies like this early in their career and then went on to have their huge mainstream successes at right around the same time, but I can't work out a crackpot theory about it.

This isn't a zombie movie, not because of how "fast" or "slow" they are, but because these things have personality. The one constant in the existence of the zombie is that these things have no personality. (I suspect what zombies representare a fear of the crowd. Zombie movies never have just one zombie.) The things in Army of the Darkness and the rest of the Evil Deadiverse are a demonic manifestation. They inhabit the bodies of the dead, but may have never actually been human themselves.

I was delighted to spot Ian Abercombie as the castle wizard (he knows about the magic spells in the Necromonicon, therefore, he is a wizard). He played Mr. Pitt, one of Elaine's eccentric bosses on Seinfeld. On a magic eye picture, Mr. Pitt became obsessed with: "It says unfocus, which is misleading. You want deep focus!" I was never really able to get those to work.

Speaking of Peter Jackson, there's a moment of a bunch of soldiers saying "you have my sword", "my bow", etc., and I thought to myself "and my axe." I remember that another moment that echoed LOTR, but I can't remember what it was. I'm now inclined to think Peter Jackson saw this at some point. And why not? It would have been in his wheelhouse.

I don't remember Sheila reverting to her human self at the end; that was a surprise.

The interior of S-Mart reminds me of Menards, a midwestern chain. Menard's was referenced on the Minnesota-produced MST3K. Given that Raimi is from Michigan, it's entirely possible he was basing S-Mart on Menards. A Menards is a little like Home Depot, but has all kinds of other things, like food. The one I know also has two stories, which you can see in the S-Mart. I don't believe Menard's sells guns, though. I'm sure everyone finds this absolutely fascinating.

This movie was a great time. It really leans into being goofy and makes no pretense at taking itself seriously.

I have to say, I received a lot of enjoyment out of this experiment. I saw a lot of great stuff. The best was either Melancholia or Color Out of Space. Color Out of Space was easily the best horror film, but Melancholia was just an excellent film I related to.

I also saw some horrible stuff. Howling II was pretty dire in how lazy it was, falling below my low expectations, and Reb Brown and Christopher Lee could not save it. Transylvania 6-5000 was the worst, an unfunny comedy with a few good performers managing to wring some laughs here and there.

That being said, I'm exhausted and I'm relieved I don't have to commit to this anymore. I like that I now have more freedom to spend my evening hours I see fit, whether that's posting here, reading, or taking care of important things I've been putting off.

 

[The Cat]

Day 31: Army of Darkness

Summary: A man is sent back in time to the Middle Ages to do battle with a demonic horde, and there is much rejoicing.

I was always going to pick a lighter movie to close this out. I felt this was more of a sure bet in the "lightness" department than the other film I was considering, which I had never seen. I appreciated its short length, too.

This movie is extremely silly. Intentionally so. Walking skeletons make bone puns. The hero builds contraptions that are futuristic by today's standards because he has science and engineering textbooks in his car. General Evil Ash is bonked in the head and his eyeballs spin like a slot machine, etc...

I'm extremely curious about why both Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson made movies like this early in their career and then went on to have their huge mainstream successes at right around the same time, but I can't work out a crackpot theory about it.

This isn't a zombie movie, not because of how "fast" or "slow" they are, but because these things have personality. The one constant in the existence of the zombie is that these things have no personality. (I suspect what zombies representare a fear of the crowd. Zombie movies never have just one zombie.) The things in Army of the Darkness and the rest of the Evil Deadiverse are a demonic manifestation. They inhabit the bodies of the dead, but may have never actually been human themselves.

I was delighted to spot Ian Abercombie as the castle wizard (he knows about the magic spells in the Necromonicon, therefore, he is a wizard). He played Mr. Pitt, one of Elaine's eccentric bosses on Seinfeld. On a magic eye picture, Mr. Pitt became obsessed with: "It says unfocus, which is misleading. You want deep focus!" I was never really able to get those to work.

Speaking of Peter Jackson, there's a moment of a bunch of soldiers saying "you have my sword", "my bow", etc., and I thought to myself "and my axe." I remember that another moment that echoed LOTR, but I can't remember what it was. I'm now inclined to think Peter Jackson saw this at some point. And why not? It would have been in his wheelhouse.

I don't remember Sheila reverting to her human self at the end; that was a surprise.

The interior of S-Mart reminds me of Menards, a midwestern chain. Menard's was referenced on the Minnesota-produced MST3K. Given that Raimi is from Michigan, it's entirely possible he was basing S-Mart on Menards. A Menards is a little like Home Depot, but has all kinds of other things, like food. The one I know also has two stories, which you can see in the S-Mart. I don't believe Menard's sells guns, though. I'm sure everyone finds this absolutely fascinating.

This movie was a great time. It really leans into being goofy and makes no pretense at taking itself seriously.

I have to say, I received a lot of enjoyment out of this experiment. I saw a lot of great stuff. The best was either Melancholia or Color Out of Space. Color Out of Space was easily the best horror film, but Melancholia was just an excellent film I related to.

I also saw some horrible stuff. Howling II was pretty dire in how lazy it was, falling below my low expectations, and Reb Brown and Christopher Lee could not save it. Transylvania 6-5000 was the worst, an unfunny comedy with a few good performers managing to wring some laughs here and there.

That being said, I'm exhausted and I'm relieved I don't have to commit to this anymore. I like that I now have more freedom to spend my evening hours I see fit, whether that's posting here, reading, or taking care of important things I've been putting off.

which version did you watch? Theatrical, Directors cut, or the definitive edition?

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Its just particularly fascinating with the occult because of the relative recentness of its origins and all the various ways different sects and affiliations piece together the mysteries of their herritage whether it be rooted in ancient religious record, oral tradition, familial tradition, or whether it comes from totally modern ideals of certain archetypes.

Yes I agree all religion and spirituality and mythology is fascinating in this regard. Its one of those special subjects that only gets more interesting to me the more i learn and observe about it. I think its why i always enjoyed humanities and mythology classes and why i had more patience with sunday school than the other kids.

I think religion is useful to study even if one doesn't believe because people should probably know these stories, given how historically influential they have been.

which version did you watch? Theatrical, Directors cut, or the definitive edition?

I think it was the theatrical. Ash ends up back in the S-Mart and tells his story to the customers, who mostly roll their eyes. A deadite emerges because he said the words mostly right again (How hard can it be, dude? Just watch some classic 50's sci-fi.) Ash defeats the fiend, and I think the last line is "Hail to the King, baby."

 

[Totenkindly]

I watched my 4K of "Drag Me to Hell" this afternoon.

It was glorious. What a banger ending!!

But I am just amazed at the sheer ferocity of the demon scenes, the no-holds-barred violence it performs and Christine getting slammed hard all over. it's just insane.

Plus the typical crazy stuff by Raimi that is like the deadites, where the Gypsy woman is coming after Christine. It's hilarious and a bit terrifying.

I think it was the theatrical. Ash ends up back in the S-Mart and tells his story to the customers, who mostly roll their eyes. A deadite emerges because he said the words mostly right again (How hard can it be, dude? Just watch some classic 50's sci-fi.) Ash defeats the fiend, and I think the last line is "Hail to the King, baby."

yeah, that is either theatrical or international version.

The DC has the cave sequence.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I watched my 4K of "Drag Me to Hell" this afternoon.

It was glorious. What a banger ending!!

But I am just amazed at the sheer ferocity of the demon scenes, the no-holds-barred violence it performs and Christine getting slammed hard all over. it's just insane.

Plus the typical crazy stuff by Raimi that is like the deadites, where the Gypsy woman is coming after Christine. It's hilarious and a bit terrifying.



yeah, that is either theatrical or international version.

The DC has the cave sequence.

I just watched that. I've scene this film a few times and I definitely have never seen *that* ending.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Another thing about Army of Darkness that I forget to mention in my review but which absolutely must be stated:

When Ash is being attacked by one of the wrong books in the cemetery, it appears to turn him into Prince Charles.