Couch Surfing with John PavlichSubmitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 08:55 |
For your friday pleasure, I'm including the link to the Sofa Dogs podcast. John Pavlich and I babbled incessantly about horror movies, both good and bad, discussed the nature of horror, the definitions of "torture porn" and all things Halloweeny. It's a long cast, folks. Enjoy!
Thanks so much, John, for having me on the show!
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Lots of interesting horror
Lots of interesting horror commentary, especially on the whole torture porn subject. I am a fan of visceral horror, but (despite the seeming contradiction) more so when it's tastefully done. I think the film Hannibal is a good example. Instead of just piling on the gore, we get teased, it's built up and built up, then when it does deliver, it's pretty god-awful (in a good way).
Saw was good... for awhile. My favorite bit from all of them (haven't seen 5 or 6) is in the second one, where Jigsaw tells the guy to do nothing for a couple hours and he'll get his son back, and then it turns out he's not lying. That was way crazier than everything else put together.
I know we discussed Halloween ad naseum, but let me ask a final question: Why did it need to be a Halloween movie (aside from obvious marketing reasons)? The first half is such a drastic departure from the original, he could have given them different names and started a completely original (or, as original as RZ is capable of) story. All the House of 1000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects fans would've loved it, without alienating the Halloween fans.
Good point
Alienating "Halloween" fans was somewhat inevitable. Basically, we're back to the whole "why do a freakin' remake to begin with??" question.
Just like the Friday the 13th, My Bloody Valentine, Prom Night, etc, remakes we're getting hit with, fans of the original movies/stories/shlock are going to be upset if the movie is not exactly the same as the original. Some will, anyway. Then again, try and imagine how you would feel about Mike Myers had you never seen the original and this Halloween was the only version you'd seen. I wonder how it would play out?
So really, we're back to the whole "why" do it? Is it money? Probably. I also LIKE to think it's because a director says "I love that flick. Wish I'd been around to direct it." It's like asking why bands do "cover" songs. Sometimes it's out of respect. Other times, it's just because they need a freakin' single to pad the album. Again, it's a question I can't really answer.
The SAW movies had some really good ideas as far as how to inject horror into situations. One reason they worked for me is they were a combination of psychological horror/thriller as well as a visceral gore fest. The hellish part of SAW, of course, is that most of the people in the traps are people you don't want to see get out of them. Rapists. Murderers. Arsonists. There is a tinge of vengeance in those characters being destroyed by the traps that sings to something dark inside us. And yeah, I get caught up in it too.
Thanks for the comments, bro!
Money
Oh lord, I just saw My Bloody Valentine. I can't believe I finished it.
I'm not as strongly opposed to cover songs as movie remakes, but I love when somebody does a good one. Remember when Marilyn Manson did "Sweet Dreams"? It didn't even sound like the same song. Then, they do "Personal Jesus," and it was totally pointless. Sounded just like the original run through a distortion pedal.
Would I have liked RZ's Halloween had I not seen the original? I'm certain I would have at least disliked it less. I bet that I would have still thought the second half felt really rushed. Also, I'd still be saying calling RZ a one-trick pony. If he were to redo the Wizard of Oz, I'd put money on Dorothy being a slut, walking around in torn up jeans with her ass hanging out, and her uncles all being dirty drunks who spent their time trying to fuck her. Going back through his catalog (movies and music), it's pretty apparent that the last really fresh, original ideas he had were used up on Astro Creep 2000. Even then, he was in a band with a very capable guitarist/songwriter. Let's be honest, Rob mumbling and going "yeah" weren't exaclty White Zombie's strong points.
Did you hear the rumours, maybe a year ago, about somebody wanting to remake Suspiria? Really, you think you're going to top Dario Argento? If they redo Profondo Rosso, I'll never give the Hollywood folks another dime of my money again.
I really wish people would say "I love Movie X. Instead of doing a really poor copy of it, I'll be inspired by it to create something awesome and new." Quentin Tarantino watches old kung fu movies, and instead of remaking them, he does Kill Bill.
The Whores Hustle and The Hustlers Whore
Many times, covers fall short. But look at A Perfect Circle's "eMOTIVe" album. I much prefer their covers of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?" and Devo's "Passive." So, it can be done. But most of the "theme" albums (they are out there) suck ass for covers. "Tribute" albums usually belong in the freakin' garbage can. I guess most "tribute" movies do as well.
As for RZ, alls I can say is either you likes it, or you doesn't. I understand why some people were annoyed or outraged. But I stand by my horrendous taste. :)
I too hope that they're going to stop the remake train. Some of the things they're remaking are just ridiculous. "Night of the Demons" sucked balls to begin with. They're going to remake it and make it better? The shitty sophomoric tits and ass jokes amidst some semblage of horror movie shtick died for me in the 80s. And that's pretty much where it should stay. Christ, I can't even imagine someone actually paying someone else to rewrite that shit.
But, c'est la vie. Supposedly there's some hollywierd wiseass out there who crunches numbers and says "hey, we can spend $6 million on making a film that's already written. And we're guaranteed $10 million just from the losers who are feeling nostalgic!". Yeah, I think that's really what's been going on here. Unfortunately, they're right.
In my defense, I can say that I watch these terrible movies using NetFlix before I ever think about purchasing them. Which is why I own the RZ Halloween and NOT the new Friday the 13th or "My Bloody Valentine" or "Prom Night". So yeah, I have bad taste, but I'm not a complete moron.
We want the new horror. We want Matt Wallace's stuff on screen. We want Sigler. We want Rossi. We want Durham. Hell, we want Lansdale! But we just keep getting the same old recycled bullshit even when it's NOT a remake. Sigh. I'm not ranting am I?
I like the idea of the "Masters of Horror" series and even the writer's strike short-lived series of stories that aired on ABC called "Fear Itself." This gives film-makers a short time slot and obviously limited budget, buy they've been able to do some amazing things, even on the networks.
It would be nice to see horror go back to indie lanes. I think we're done with Hostel et al. I have little to no interest in another Saw. I want to see the RZ Halloween 2 just cuz. But that's pretty much it. Haven't seen Pandorum, although it sounds like another Alien remix. But I am hopeful we're going to get some new stuff in the near future. Very hopeful. And if not? Then I guess I'm going to have to write a freakin' script for "Tattoo" or "Canvas" or the one I'm working on now and put together an internet movie. Fuck the studios. LET'S DO THIS SHIT!
As always, thanks for the comments. :)
Totally agree about Perfect
Totally agree about Perfect Circle. Those songs don't sound like covers. Metallica was always pretty good for stuff like that, too. As soon as they played something, it sounded like a Metallica song. I think it has to do with having a solid style that's your own. Sigler is like that. Have you noticed that when he reads somebody else's stuff, it still sounds like something he wrote?
I should also mention that I'm not nearly as elitist as I've probably sounded in the last couple comments. I've got Chronicles of Riddick on as I'm typing this, after all :)
Elitist???
I don't think it's about "elitism" at all. It's different taste. One day I'll put up a playlist of what I've been listening to while writing. It will show just how bad my taste truly is! People like what they like. And they should NEVER be afraid to say they like it. Although "Mister Mister" might be going too far...
Agreed
One of my main goals as a parent is for my kids to not let their tastes be determined by their friends. I liked a lot of stuff my friends hated, and spent a lot of time questioning whether what I was into was valid or not. I look back now, and realize they were really closed minded, and I probably should've found different friends instead of trying to conform to those guys :)
This is the first time I've actually paid any sort of attention to Riddick, and I've gotta say... it's pretty good. For some reason it makes me think Indiana Jones/Stargate mash-up.