HITCH (1942-2011)

This past Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011, journalist, orator, raconteur and professional contrarian Christopher Hitchens finally succumbed to complications arising from esophageal cancer. He was 62 years old. With his passing, the world has lost one of the great public iconoclasts, a man singularly devoted to the pursuit of truth and the utter destruction of hypocrisy in all it's forms. His targets included Henry Kissinger , Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Dalai Lama, the current Pope, and even Mother Theresa. Not always an easy man to like or admire, Hitchens could be smug, supercilious and blatantly rude. He was, also, the champion of  several controversial and, seemingly indefensible, positions, including an unwavering support of the War in Iraq. He was a complicated man for a complicated world.

I suppose I first took notice of him on Bill Maher's "Politically Incorrect" show. I remember being quite struck by this rumpled Englishman saying outrageous things about President Clinton (basically calling him a rapist) but dismissing him as some kind of right-wing whack job. How wrong I was. In Hitchen's youth he was a committed socialist and political activist against the war in Vietnam. It is to his credit as a nuanced writer and thinker that his later support of the war in Iraq seems neither contradictory nor hypocritical.

If you bother to read his various essays and articles leading up the war, you will see that his support is not based in some kind of rah-rah-go-America patriotism or a desire for post 9/11 revenge against the Muslim world. This is a person who spent a lot of time in Iraq, understood the culture, and had many valued friends in that country, and his hatred of Saddam Hussein and his Ba'ath party is based in that experience. In Hitchens' opinion it was the long overdue moral responsibility of the U.S. to remove Hussein from power, the sooner the better. You may disagree, (as I do), but this was not the opinion of a republican war monger, but rather that of a committed humanist outraged on behalf of a nation about which he cared deeply.

If Hitchens was well known for anything in the States it was his tireless and vocal promotion of aetheism and his distaste for religion. This debate is particularly illustrative, as it represents him at his best and worst. When debating religion he could be arrogant and dismissive, taking his anti-god stance as a moral and intellectual given. Conversely, he was, also, at his wittiest and most passionate. I recommend trolling youtube for anything involving Hitchens and religion. There are literally hours of footage of Hitchens debating religion, all of it entertaining, enlightening, and intellectually stimulating. There are worse ways to spend a cold winter afternoon.

As I feared, this post is far too literal and plodding to do justice to such a talented polemicist, but I do want to mention one more important aspect of his writing. He was also a fine literary critic, and I highly recommend any of his essays on great books and authors. This is Hitchens at his happiest, discussing what is really important to him. Of course it helps that he and I are in agreement on many of our favourite writers. I've been thrilled over the years to read his thoughts on such figures as James Joyce, Jorge Luis Borges and Patrick O'Brian and find them so close to my own. It was this, more than his political stances or his anti-religious activities, that made him a personal hero of mine. Well, that and his utter fearlessness in the face of, not only political and intellectual opposition, but his own mortality.

This last observation I will allow Mr. Hitchen's to illustrate in his own words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbBVB66DC5k&feature=related

Anyone interested in sampling Christopher Hitchen's work will want to check out his archive on the Slate website. Further reading should include his excellent autobiography Hitch-22, his essay collection Love, Poverty and War, his stirring anti-religion polemic God is Not Great plus: Letters to a Young Contrarian, Why Orwell Matters and Thomas Paine's Rights of  Man: A Biography.

Words and phrases I say too often

Douche
Douchebag
Douchetard
(Fill in the blank)tard
awesome
actually
anyway
There you are
There you go
There it is
Yeah, that'll happen.
That's no way to behave.
spectacular
excellent
awesome
dude
palpable
ostensibly
F*ck me! (as an exclamation not an invitation.....mostly)
Madre Dios!
Damn you Sharktopus!
God F*cking Dammit!
C*cksucking F*cking Whore!
C*cksucking Motherf*cking Whore!
I hate Edmonton.
I know, right?

THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 31 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

"I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply...evil"

HALLOWEEN  (1978)

Directed by John Carpenter

I know, obvious choice, but hear me out.

John Carpenter's "Halloween", the story of psychopath Michael Myers stalking, terrorizing and, ultimately, slaughtering a group of teenagers on October 31st, is a nearly perfect film. The budget is small and the story couldn't be simpler but, somehow, the director turns this little horror film into a masterclass of film aesthetics. Music, editing, fluid camera movement, flawless composition and innovative use of the widescreen frame all combine to create a masterpiece of sustained suspense. This is a director with an absolute command of the language of cinema.
The simplicity and skill of "Halloween" make this a movie I can revisit over and over again, usually right about this time of year. You can argue that Carpenter surpassed his work here with his brilliant version of "The Thing", a film that looks better with every passing year, but I still find "Halloween" his most compulsively watchable film.
Veteran character actor Donald Pleasence is inspired as the eccentric, Dr. Loomis but it's Jamie Lee Curtis' performance as Lorie Strode that has proved influential to this day. The character of the young woman who proves smart and strong enough to survive is still the template for contemporary horror movie protagonist and not likely to change anytime soon.
Despite it's worthy predecessors (which would include "Deep Red", the original "Black Christmas" and of course, Hitchcock's "Psycho") I belive that "Halloween" is still the supreme example of the unstoppable, knife-wielding killer movie. It has inspired a legion of mediocre imitators but that does not, in any way, detract from it's power or acheivement. It remains my favourite horror film.

So that's that, 31 horror films in as many days. I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts and, maybe, discovered some new titles to consider. I don't know when I'll be back as I'm pretty busy these days. Maybe at Christmas time I'll write about how crappy most Santa movies are.
What do you think?

THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 30.5

WHAT WAS LEFT OFF AND WHY

31 just isn't enough. Here are some titles that didn't make the list but deserve a mention:

JAWS (1975):  Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" is one of my very favourite movies and it's certainly full of scares and suspense, but I've never really thought of it as a horror film. I've always approached it as a suspense thriller that morphs into an adventure film at about the halfway mark.

CARRIE (1976): Great movie and one of the fundamental works of modern horror. I would have happily written about it but I just couldn't find a spot on my list.

THE OMEN (1975): I love "The Omen" but I've never found it scary at all. It's a solid, classy, well made film with an a-list cast and I do recommend it, but it's also kind of stupid.

RE-ANIMATOR (1985): Arghhh, I hated leaving this film off the list! Stuart Gordon's black comedy Lovecraft adaptation is hilarious, gross, sexy (kinda), offensive and highly entertaining, with a terrific career defining performance from Jeffrey Combs. Basically it came down to this and "Ginger Snaps" and I went with the Canadian choice.

PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987) &  IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS (1994): Two wonderfully entertaining films from John Carpenter that, along with "The Thing", form a  sort of loose "apocalypse trilogy." "In the Mouth of Madness" is a particular favourite of mine.

DOG SOLDIERS (2002): Neil Marshall's debut feature is an entertaining riff on "Aliens" and "Night of the Living Dead" featuring soldiers holed up in a remote farmhouse surrounded by ravenous werewolves. Lot's of fun, but I went with his follow up "The Descent" which I think is a scarier, more powerful film.

DEAD ALIVE  (aka BRAINDEAD) (1992)  &  THE FRIGHTENERS (1996) : Two fun features from a pre-LOTR Peter Jackson. "Dead Alive" is a great over the top zombie "splat-stick" comedy but, as enjoyable as it is, I ultimately end up finding it a bit tiresome in it's endless parade of goofy jokes and gore gags. ""The Frighteners" is a sadly underrated horror fantasy that came very close to making my list.

THE ORPHANAGE  (EL ORFANATO)  (2007): A lovely yet creepy ghost story from Spain, produced by Guillermo del Toro. Despite my admiration for this film, I ended up going with "The Devil's Backbone" instead.

WITCHFINDER GENERAL (aka THE CONQUERER WORM) (1968): Michael Reeves' film is really more of an historical drama than a horror movie so I decided to leave it off the list, although I recommend it highly. If nothing else it contains what I believe is Vincent Price's finest ever performance. Seriously, he's great.

BLACK SUNDAY  ( LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO) (1960): I could include any number of films on this list from the great Mario Bava, including "Black Sabbath", "The Whip and the Body" or 'Bay of Blood" but I'm sticking with what may be his masterpiece.  A beautifully atmospheric Gothic horror story with stunning black and white cinematography, this film contains images as striking and elegant as any found in Jean Cocteau.

THE MIST (2007): Another strong Stephen King adaptation from Frank Darabont, this story of desperate people trapped in a supermarket by a mysterious mist filled with horrible monsters is one the best and most underrated American horror movies of the decade. If it has any major flaw it's a tendency towards heavy handed allegory but his is more than made up for by the devastating, uncompromising ending.

REPULSION (1965): Supreme psychological horror film from director Roman Polanski that remains one the the most disturbing portraits of madness in the cinema. Who would believe that the ethereally beautiful Catherine Deneuve could be so frightening.

....and I could go on but I'll stop here. I would be remiss if I didn't mention one more film though.

PSYCHO (1960)  Of course it's a masterpiece. Of course it's an absolutely essential work of American cinema that opened up whole new doors for mature and challenging content. Of course Anthony Perkins creates one of the all time greatest, and scariest, film characters in Norman Bates.
So, why isn't it on my list? Basically, I just wasn't interested in writing about it. You know what it is, and if you haven't seen it by now it's your loss.

So that's it. Be back tomorrow with my final movie which is also my all time favourite horror film.
I'm sure you all suspect what it is by now but please, no spoilers.

THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 30

"What are they doing? Why do they come here?"

DAWN OF THE DEAD  (1978)

Directed by George Romero

I saw the first two George Romero zombie classics in the wrong order. I can't say my age for sure, but I know that the first time I watched "Dawn of the Dead' I had yet to see "Night of the Living Dead" so I was confused, disoriented and horrified. The movie begins at a TV station in a state of total chaos. Clearly, there is some kind of national emergency that is spiraling out of control. Some pundits on the television are arguing furiously about how to deal with the situation, while the staff of the TV station are rapidly abandoning their posts. Cut to a S.W.A.T. team storming a building where the residents have refused to leave. Within minutes, an innocent man gets his head blown clean off by an insane racist cop while another man staggers back to his family and when his wife embraces him he takes a huge gory bite out of her shoulder. What the hell was going on?

So that's how I was introduced to the cinematic world of George Romero's zombie apocalypse, and I've been a fan ever since. As the film progressed, I quickly caught on to the basic situation but never lost my sense of fear or tension. Much is made of "Dawn of the Dead" as a social satire or black comedy and that element is definitely there , but on my first viewing I experienced it purely as a violent and unpredictable horror film.  I will say, however, that the fundamental satirical conceit, that the mall walking zombies represent a sort of all encompassing, dehumanising consumerism has proven eerily prescient. Go to a mall, especially first thing in the morning, and see if you disagree.

One of the all time great horror films and a masterpiece of subversive genre cinema.

THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 29

"Beware the moon, David."

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON  (1981)

Directed by John Landis

I must have been about 13 when I first saw this movie and that was just the right age as far as I'm concerned. I already loved comedy, was just beginning to appreciate horror films and here was a movie that was both in almost equal measure. ( I say "almost" because I  think, ultimately, it is a horror movie, and a tragic on at that.) It had so much for me too enjoy, including two appealing leading performances, some great scary moments, lots of good funny lines, a fantastic monster and naked Jenny Agutter. No wonder this is one of my favourite movies.
Anyway, David Naughton and Griffin Dunne have a great rapport as the two unfortunate young Americans who encounter a werewolf on the moors of Northern England with predictably dire consequences. I particularly like the way Dunne maintains his sense of humour after death and decomposition set in. (Watch the movie and the previous sentence will make sense, I swear.) The film is beautifully paced and always entertaining as we follow the poor doomed character, played by Naughton, towards his inevitable horrible transformation.
And what a transformation! Thirty years later it is still unmatched in it's power and believability. You feel every cracking bone and each stretching tendon. The great makeup artist, Rick Baker, achieved a masterpiece that no cgi has ever come close to matching. This is not an opinion; it's a fact.

An important movie in my development as a film fanatic and one I cherish to this day.

THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 28

"My family's always been in meat."

THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE  (1974)

Directed by Tobe Hooper

At this point, I certainly don't need to defend "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" as a horror film. If you've seen it, you already know the visceral power of Tobe Hooper's nightmarish classic. If you haven't there are a few things that might surprise you.
First of all, although this is certainly a violent and disturbing film, it is not gory in the least. There is not one onscreen gore effects and very little blood. This is probably due to budget restrictions as much as anything else, but it still needs to be pointed out as it flies in the face of the film's reputation. As much as any horror film of the past the primary power of this movie is in atmosphere and the building of tension.  Well, at least until the last act.
This film is gritty. It looks and feels as hot and sticky as a summer's afternoon in southern Texas. The hideous house, where Leatherface and his family carry out their ghastly deeds, is a triumph of low budget horror aesthetics, emphasising filth and rot and further adding to the discomforting physical nature of the movie.
So  Hooper's film looks and feels unpleasant, features unpleasant characters (even the victims are pretty loathsome) and involves even more unpleasant deeds and consequences/ So why watch it at all?
Well no reason at all, except that "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" is as valid a work of art as any film known to me. Very much a product of it's turbulent age, the movie is both a groundbreaking work of realistic violence and an effective allegory for a country in the throes of social unrest and cultural conflict. So there's that.
Getting back to old Leatherface, despite his hideous appearance, he does not fit into the usual category of slasher monsters/villains. It's true he tends to murder easily and without mercy but unlike say Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers, I don't believe he's truly evil. What we have here is, clearly, a mentally challenged adult raised in a violent abusive home filled with degenerates. If you watch closely you'll see that almost everything he does is motivated, not by sadism or cruelty, but fear. Fear of discovery by the outside world and fear of punishment and abuse from his cruel brothers(?).So have a little sympathy for the big guy, he's doing his best in a bad sitruation.

Two more things:
Only one person in the movie is actually killed with a chainsaw.
The film's final shots are suprisingly striking and evocative. See if you don't think so.