Sunday, 22 December 2013

Lord of Tears film review (no spoilers) 2013

Kount Kreepy was kind enough (or was it really to torment me?) to drop off "Lord of Tears"for me to review.

Thanks to Lawrie Brewster the director for sending this collectors DVD to review.

This movie fits the bill for creepy movies. The haunting imagery starts strongly right from the beginning and does not disappoint. The tone is like an impending doom that makes you wait and want to know more as the story evolves and has some twists toward the end that many won't see coming, but done in a way that is fitting with the story and characters. Based on urban legend as well as ancient myths gives it some historical setting. If one is a Jungian follower of psychology you could well find that this film will hit that deep seated nerve or collective memory.

There is a dark wintry feeling to the imagery and scenery with brief moments of faint hope for the main characters against a foreboding back drop. Lord of Tears relies on the camera work and ambiance instead of the special effects and CGI that too many films seem to rely on these days. Its like being taken back to when films could scare the crap out of you without the buckets of blood and fancy tricks.
(imagery courtesy of Lord of Tears on tumbler)

I hate comparing films to others as this one surely stands on it's own but for those looking for an idea or "its kind of like such and such" this film has elements of other films I've enjoyed immensely. Some films just stick with you for a long time after and Lord of Tears is no exception to that.

Visually it has a lot of power and suggestion to it putting me in the mind of films like Ringu (or The Ring in English- a Japanese Horror film) or The Shining (When a building just sitting there gives you the creeps!)

Feeling wise it puts me in mind of Dagon or In The Mouth of Madness which fits in with the Lovecraft style and pace of the film. Given that the budget was from a Kickstarter campaign the film is great.

A part of the film struck a chord with me (I don't think its really a spoiler), the main character finds the taps in the bathroom turn on by themselves. Many moons ago I had stayed at a hotel that was allegedly haunted and awoke to find the taps on. Thinking about it this happened twice at two different locations and both were apparently haunted!

So enough said already. Get the DVD, it has some great bonus features including an interview with the Director who comes across as inclusive with his audience. He is like a tour guide of horror coming along with you for the ride and experiencing what you experience, he just has a few more of the answers and helps put it all into perspective.

Also there is a quick mention of the next project "The Unkindness of Ravens" about:

"Andrew Alburn, a homeless veteran suffering from PTSD is plagued by flashbacks, stemming from a traumatic event he witnessed while in the armed forces. He spends time in a highland retreat where he hopes to overcome his fear of ravens, the dark creatures that trigger and populate his visions. But in the bleak highlands of Scotland, his nightmares manifest into an enemy more powerful than he could ever have imagined." from Facebook

being a veteran myself I can't wait to see this. If Lawrie does it any justice like Dog Soldiers (portraying military characters as more than 2D cut outs) I'm sure it will be a good film.

Thanks for tuning in.- Evil von Scarry

Thursday, 4 April 2013

Cthulhu Lives in the gut of a termite! (and more!)

Found this article in Popsci and had to re-post it! (with some better art) And as an added bonus I threw in some other goodies!

Cthulhu Lives In The Gut Of A Termite

As well as in the malevolent deeps

By Martha HarbisonPosted 04.04.2013 at 3:32 pm2 Comments

The Dread Cthulhu Wikipedia

Scientists have been naming species after famous people for a long time. For example, Thomas Jefferson has an extinct giant ground sloth named after him. Mark Knopfler rates a dinosaur. Frank Zappa has multiple animals sharing his namesake, including a spider, a jellyfish and a mudskipper.

Now joining those hallowed ranks is one of the Great Old Ones. Scientists at the University of British Columbia and the University of Florida bequeathed two new genera of symbiotic protists their own dread names: Cthulhu and Cthylla.

The protists, not surprisingly, have a lot of tentacles. (Or, well, they have tentacle-like appendages. In fact, if they didn't have tentacle-like appendages, I would have been writing this column berating the researchers for their oversight). But, as the researchers say in the abstract to their paper, published in PLOS One: "Both genera have […] an anterior bundle flagella (and likely a single posterior flagellum) that emerge slightly subanteriorly and have a distinctive beat pattern. Cthulhu is relatively large and has a distinctive bundle of over 20 flagella whereas Cthyllais smaller, has only 5 anterior flagella."

The critters live inside termite guts and help the termites digest the cellulose in wood. I had no idea that R'lyeh was situated in the body cavity of an insect, rather than at the bottom of the South Pacific.

The Lovecraftian purists out there are probably looking at the second genus and muttering "bullsh*t" to themselves--Cthylla (apparently Cthulhu's youngest progeny) was not created by H.P. Lovecraft. She was invented in 1975 by writer Brian Lumley. I'm not going to get into a nerd-rage fueled throwdown over the nomenclature and rightness of using a latter-day addition to the mythos in the same paper as the hallowed original. I'm just going to use this as an excuse to bust out my copy of At The Mountains of Madness and call in sick tomorrow for work.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!

Cthulhu based Movies:

Dagon(2001) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264508/

The Last Lovecraft(2009) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1522262/

Cthulhu based books:

That which should not be by Brett J Talley http://www.amazon.com/That-Which-Should-Not-Be/dp/1936564149/ref=pd_sim_b_4

Synopsis

Miskatonic University has a long-whispered reputation of being strongly connected to all things occult and supernatural. From the faculty to the students, the fascination with other-worldly legends and objects runs rampant. So, when Carter Weston's professor Dr. Thayerson asks him to search a nearby village for a book that is believed to control the inhuman forces that rule the Earth, Incendium Maleficarum, The Inferno of the Witch, the student doesn't hesitate to begin the quest.

Weston's journey takes an unexpected turn, however, when he ventures into a tavern in the small town of Anchorhead. Rather than passing the evening as a solitary patron, Weston joins four men who regale him with stories of their personal experiences with forces both preternatural and damned. Two stories hit close to home as they tie the tellers directly to Weston's current mission.

His unanticipated role as passive listener proves fortuitous, and Weston fulfills his goal. Bringing the book back to Miskatonic, though, proves to be a grave mistake. Quickly, Weston realizes he has played a role in potentially opening the gate between the netherworld and the world of Man. Reversing the course of events means forgetting all he thought he knew about Miskatonic and his professor and embracing an unknown beyond his wildest imagination.