...in case you haven't checked it, a full rundown on Shout's new releases from PSYCHO to PRINCE OF DARKNESS is now live:
http://andyfilm.com/2013/09/17/9-17-a-s ... september/
This Week's Aisle Seat - PSYCHO Sequel Mania
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AndyDursin
- Posts: 34289
- Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:45 pm
- Location: RI
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DavidBanner
Re: This Week's Aisle Seat - PSYCHO Sequel Mania
My understanding of Charles Edward Pogue's script for the 1986 The Fly was that it was completely rewritten by David Cronenberg. He has stated in interviews that he retained Pogue's credit but pretty much rebuilt the movie from scratch. Having not read Pogue's draft, I have no way of confirming this - but the movie plays very consistently with Cronenberg's common themes. Of the two movies of Psycho III and The Fly, it's the latter that's much more powerful for me.
As for Prince of Darkness, I totally agree that it's another sign of John Carpenter's rapid slide into irrelevance. It wasn't alone in this. Christine was a meh for me when I saw it in theaters in 1983. The Thing worked for me on some levels but on others was a typical Carpenter failure to pull his story together. I remember a review of Escape from New York from the then-going concern of the Twilight Zone Magazine, where they cited Escape is an example of Carpenter putting together a fullproof concept - and then blowing it. There was another review of Carpenter's work from the late 80s that stays with me - this one from Andy Klein, if memory serves, and he was reviewing They Live. His comment was that Carpenter tended to find some really good concepts for a movie but would then hide them inside a B movie. A really BAD B movie. In the case of Prince of Darkness, there really is a good idea buried amid the goop and gore. Carpenter was discussing the notion of good and evil being represented in terms of matter and antimatter. His presentation of both sides of a mirror is effective and disturbing, as is the recurring image of the dream message being sent from the future. Sadly, Carpenter pollutes the whole thing with zombie homeless people and moments like the cockroaches animating the dead guy to tell the heroes "I have a message and you're not going to like it!" I've felt for a while that Carpenter might still have a good movie left in him, but the prospects of that are looking dimmer and dimmer as time goes on. The simple fact is that he gave us one great, cheap horror flick with Halloween and a few other good thoughts along the way but his time is long past. His one undeniable skill was the use of the widescreen canvas - it's an area that very few directors these days have shown any ability to master.
As for Prince of Darkness, I totally agree that it's another sign of John Carpenter's rapid slide into irrelevance. It wasn't alone in this. Christine was a meh for me when I saw it in theaters in 1983. The Thing worked for me on some levels but on others was a typical Carpenter failure to pull his story together. I remember a review of Escape from New York from the then-going concern of the Twilight Zone Magazine, where they cited Escape is an example of Carpenter putting together a fullproof concept - and then blowing it. There was another review of Carpenter's work from the late 80s that stays with me - this one from Andy Klein, if memory serves, and he was reviewing They Live. His comment was that Carpenter tended to find some really good concepts for a movie but would then hide them inside a B movie. A really BAD B movie. In the case of Prince of Darkness, there really is a good idea buried amid the goop and gore. Carpenter was discussing the notion of good and evil being represented in terms of matter and antimatter. His presentation of both sides of a mirror is effective and disturbing, as is the recurring image of the dream message being sent from the future. Sadly, Carpenter pollutes the whole thing with zombie homeless people and moments like the cockroaches animating the dead guy to tell the heroes "I have a message and you're not going to like it!" I've felt for a while that Carpenter might still have a good movie left in him, but the prospects of that are looking dimmer and dimmer as time goes on. The simple fact is that he gave us one great, cheap horror flick with Halloween and a few other good thoughts along the way but his time is long past. His one undeniable skill was the use of the widescreen canvas - it's an area that very few directors these days have shown any ability to master.
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Mike Skerritt
- Posts: 364
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- Location: DC
Re: This Week's Aisle Seat - PSYCHO Sequel Mania
Interesting thoughts on BATES MOTEL, Andy. It sounds (for almost the exact same reasons) like a cousin to HANNIBAL, one of my favorite shows from the last few years.
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AndyDursin
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Re: This Week's Aisle Seat - PSYCHO Sequel Mania
Check it out Mike! I haven't watched Hannibal but I'm aware of all the great reviews it's received.Mike Skerritt wrote:Interesting thoughts on BATES MOTEL, Andy. It sounds (for almost the exact same reasons) like a cousin to HANNIBAL, one of my favorite shows from the last few years.