PLOT: A young man is running through the desolate area, surrounded by sand and an occasional blackened, barren tree, apparently fleeing from someone. He is followed by a man with a cold expression, wearing a black mantle. The young man reaches the large building of an asylum and requires the doctor to receive him and take care of him. He introduces himself as Michael, but refuses to say anything more about his persecutor. He denies hints that he may be sick, and believes that he does not need treatment, but only care and protection. The doctor is initially skeptical, but there is a shadow of a doubt because he himself saw, or thought he saw, someone who had followed Michael to the very asylum.
The second time, the follower comes into the asylum's yard and heads towards the building. The doorman stops him, claiming that it is not time for visits, but the Man just grabs him by the neck and throws him down to the ground. He leaves only when the screams attract attention of the rest of the staff and patients.
One morning, a doctor walks through the foggy wasteland, when he encounters the pursuer, seeking his protege back. He claims to be Michael's guardian. Michael has escaped him but, allegedly, he needs the kind of care that the doctors are unable to provide. The nameless "guardian" threatens a gloomy outcome if his protege is not delivered back to him...
REVIEW: The Protected One is another example of Djordje Kadijevic's skills in mature adaptation of a literary work so that, in his interpretation, it becomes even more complex, with the potential developed to the utmost. The literary text becomes only a point of departure for an intelligent and inspired author's superstructure, fully colored with Kadijevic's trademark style, but basically true to the original. This personal touch can be seen, among other things, in the very title: none of Kadijevic's horror adaptations (The She-Butterfly, The Maidenly Music and A Holy Place) is called by the title of stories they were inspired by ("After 90 Years", "Alpurarian Music", "Viy"). This freedom is fully deserved, because of the originality and seriousness evident in the director's approach.
The story "Michael and His Cousin" by Philip Davidoriginates from a collection of short stories A Well in the Dark Woods (1964). The central theme, in all of them, concerns man's inability to transcend earthly limitations and penetrate into the beyond. This is perhaps most explicitly present in the story "A Blind Bird," about a man obsessed with becoming a bird and flying away from his empty life. At the same time, stories of this collection speak of fascination with "the dark side" and inability to resist the metaphysical darkness, especially apparent in the collection's titular short story, in which a father fails to rescue his son from the mysteriously magnetic attraction of a well in the dark forest which no one else can see. "Michael and His Cousin" also falls into this thematic circle since it deals with inability of escaping one's destiny. David's story is merely nine pages long in print, and hardly comparable to a sketch. Kadijevic is inspired by this sketch to apply his paintbrush and make a detailed artwork worthy of Francisco de Goya.
Narrated from the perspective of an unnamed doctor, the story begins in a dark, stormy night when a mysterious fugitive enters the doors of asylum. In Kadijevic's film, it happens in broad daylight. True, this is a gray, overcast fall day filled with howling winds. In this author's films the day is as often the scene of horror as is the night, and he manages to create some of his most memorably spooky effects of his films in their daytime scenes. Even if these proceedings are, to some extent, due to the limitations of a cheap TV production and difficulties related to night shooting, the fact remains that Kadijevic has no problem circumventing this obstacle and finding terror in the cold daylight. This is actually closer to the point of David's prose, in which the light of day does not bring salvation.
Certainly the key moment in the story and the film version is the relationship between the young man and his pursuer. The true nature of the follower has intentionally been left foggy in both cases. In the story's title he is referred to as a "cousin", and later references describe ''a slender, elongated inhuman and swift figure'', ''unknown creature", ''a stranger'', ''persecutor'', "mysterious, tyrannical, parasitic creature'', ''unknown master", ''ghostly man'', ''phantom'' and so on.
The origin of this creature remains unclear, but subtle allusions suggest that he is most likely the Devil, who came for his due, for the soul of the one who unwisely, and perhaps unknowingly, sold it into predition. In any case, it is clear that the relationship with the "relative" does not come from blood ties, but that their connection is of a more intangible, more sophisticated nature. It is a relationship of a master and a (runaway) slave, or guardian and ward, "the protected one".
In fact, the story seems to repeat the situation of the classical German horror film Der Student von Prag (1913), screenplay written by H. H. Evers, but in a way that elliptically obscures the first phases of the plot, representing only its culmination, with no introduction and development. In the film by Stellan Rye a young student sells his reflection in the mirror (his soul) to a refined man of aristocratic manners, dressed in black. The latter is presented as Dr. Scapinelli, but it is clear that this is a devil incarnate. (See: Dejan Ognjanovic, Faustian screen: The Devil in Cinema) In the end, realizing what he has done, the boy runs away, but in vain, and his own reflection kills him. "The Buyer" appears to rejoice over the dead body of the student, ripping the contract, and symbolically taking the soul to eternal damnation… The Protected Oneends in a very similar manner…
(This is an excerpt from the book on Serbian horror cinema In the Hills, the Horrors by Dejan Ognjanovic)
"Subversive Serbia" was the name of a program at this year's Fantasia festival in Montreal which showcased new and much talked-about titles like TheLife and Death of a Porn Gangand the notorious A Serbian Film, together with somewhat older horrors, all coming from a country not known for its genre fare. It was a success, both in terms of audience response (and awards) and in terms of the recognition by the jury and the press. It took the audiences by surprise – and by the throat!
A wave of shocking, transgressive and fascinatingly moving horrors, which some have hyperbolically compared to A Clockwork Orange, originated in what other reporters labeled "an undiscovered country." Well, the time is ripe to reveal new and old Serbian shockers to a larger audience.
That's where the renowned Canadian horror magazine RUE MORGUEenters to fill the gap and provide the belated, yet timely (!) introduction to Serbian horror films. The latest issue #106, which hit the North American stands on November 1st, boasts a large section on Serbian horrors, namely:
1) THE ART OF ATROCITY
This is my brief introduction to the recent real-life horrors which fuelled the new wave of Serbian films, coupled with a very thorough interview with Srdjan Spasojevic, the director of A Serbian Film. This is probably the longest and most thorough interview he's given so far – so brace yourself to hear what he had to say in answer to all these questions:
- One American critic called A Serbian Film – "one of the angriest films I've ever seen". What is the root of that rage?
- How did you get funding for such an extreme film?
- How difficult was it to cast such a movie, particularly the underage actor who plays Milos’ son?
- What’s your attitude towards horror? Although A Serbian Film is not a “pure” example of that genre, that’s the label it gets most often because of its extreme imagery, gore and shocks.
- How did you meet your co-screenwriter, Alexandar Radivojevic, and how did the story develop?
- Why title it A Serbian Film?
- Was the movie inspired by any particular real-life incidents, or is it simply the fallout of growing up during wartime?
- In A Serbian Film there are obvious influences from American, European and perhaps Japanese films. It has been compared to works by filmmakers as different as, say, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Gaspar Noé, Pascal Laugier, Eli Roth, Tobe Hooper and Takashi Miike. What do you think about those, and who are your real influences?
- The movie is riddled with scenes of atrocity; what was the most difficult sequence to shoot?
- Why did you feel that the notorious “newborn porn” scene was necessary?
- Have audiences thus far understood your intentions with the scene?
- Tell us about some of the other problems you’ve run into. Is it true that you had to leave Germany because of the film?
- So, you’ll allow your film to be cut for some releases? What do you think about such demands?
- Do you consider the film dangerous?
- Are you working on another film now, and will it share a similar aesthetic to A Serbian Film? Take a similar approach?
The intro + the interview occupy stunning 4,5 blood-drenched pages of the mag!
2) PAIN AND PERVERSION IN THE BALKANS
This is my review of TheLife and Death of a Porn Gang laced with snippets of interview with its director, Mladen Djordjevic. It takes ½ page.
3) TRADITION OF TERROR
A brief overview of all horror films ever made in Serbia, from the local-cult SHE-BUTTERFLY to the most recent ZONE OF THE DEAD. This intro is graced by the exclusive photos of these films, largely unknown in the West.
That's what occupies this unique 7-page Serbian horror special.
The new issue of the RUE MORGUE magazine, which hits the stands on November 1st, has a spotlight on Serbian horror films, which includes: an introduction to the real-life horrors which gave birth to the cinematic ones, a very thorough interview with Srdjan Spasojevic (the director of A SERBIAN FILM), a brief presentation of another recent Serbian shocker (THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A PORNO GANG) laced with the talk with its director, Mladen Djordjevic, and an overview of all Serbian horror films made up to date (more than a dozen gems waiting to be discovered by the Western audiences).
In order to announce this Serbian horror-special, I'll point out some of the more memorable and lasting impressions made by the Serbs upon the international horror scene.
- During the silent era, Iván Petrovich (real name: Svetislav) was a big star: he had major roles in such horror films as The Magician (1926) and Alraune (1928).
Also, in the Austrian-Hungarian film The Death of Dracula (1921) female lead was played by a Serbian actress Lene Myl. Sadly, all prints of this first screen adaptation of Dracula (made before Murnau's Nosferatu!) seem to be lost.
- In the curious Incubus (1966), a horror film entirely in Esperanto, the titular character is played by Milos Milos (!), a Serbian actor who soon after that film shot and killed the estranged wife of Mickey Rooney, Barbara Ann Thompson Rooney, and then killed himself.
- Srdjan Zelenovic
played Sacha (aka The Male Monster) in Paul Morrissey's Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), as a representative of the Serbian uber-male who was supposed to father the master-race.
If only he weren't impotent...
- Olivera Katarina
played Vanessa Benedict, a waitress with a stunning buxom in Michael Armstrong's Mark of the Devil (1970). Her other genre credits include Devicanska Svirka (A Maiden's Music, 1973) and Carlston za Ognjenku (aka Tears for Sale, 2008).
- Rade Serbedzija
had a memorable role in Serbian disaster-horror film Variola Vera (1982). Later he had a successful international career, with roles in Eyes Wide Shut, Snatch, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, etc.
His genre credits include: Mighty Joe Young (1998), Stigmata (1999), The Fog (2005), The Eye (2008) and Quarantine (2008).
- Milla Jovovich,
the star of the Resident Evil series, is born of a Serbian father and Ukrainian mother. Her other horror credits include A Perfect Getaway (2009) and The Fourth Kind (2009).
- Bojana Novakovic
is another hot actress from Serbia whose horror outings so far include Drag Me to Hell (2009) and Devil (2010).
***
PS: - The French actress Simone Simon (pictured at the very top of this article) played a character named Irena Dubrovna, a Serbian cat woman in the original Cat People (1941). The legend of the cat people, as presented in the film, is a complete invention and has no correlation with Serbian folklore, just as her surname isn't even remotely Serbian.
Director: Dejan Zecevic
Screenplay: Dejan Zecevic
Cast: Nebojsa Glogovac, Sonja Damjanović, Nikola Djuricko, Branko Vidakovic, Dusica Zegarac
Producers: Milan Peca Nikolic, Pedja Milojevic
A group of young people try to score some weed. They go to the Turkish baths within the ancient Belgrade fort to meet a pusher, but end up trapped there and mercilessly killed one by one by a mysterious slasher clad in black leather. It all seems to have some connection with a strange and very rare T. T. Syndrome, but will they solve the mystery before they're all gone down the drain?
Zecevic creates a rather effective collage of slasher stereotypes mixed with an Argento-like whodunit (close-up fetishism of gloves, door handles and various sharp weaponry, plus the typical giallo motifs of a strong mother figure, childhood trauma and a haunting nursery rhyme). Relentless claustrophobia and tension in an inspired setting at their most effective resemble the highlights of early John Carpenter's and Tobe Hooper's films, while the vivid flashes of gore invoke the spirit of vintage Lucio Fulci.
T. T. Syndrome is the first Serbian horror film which does not feel obliged to justify itself with elements of more respectable genres or motifs. It does not imply a political allegory, although placing (and killing off) its youthful cast entirely in a public toilet might have been a statement about dashed hopes of post-Milosevic Serbia, after all! But above everything else, the movie uses motifs and style of slasher, plain and simple, to scare its audience. It is a horror fan's brainchild made first and foremost for other horror fans.
In spite of its shoestring budget, T. T. Syndrome can stand next to most American low-budget efforts without feeling inferior. Zecevic makes a most inventive use of his limited setting, the decrepit Turkish bath and public toilet. Through his directorial skill he creates a palpable menace within such a banal setting which, by the end which takes place in the fort's catacombs, attains almost mythical proportions. The film's technical side is quite competent, and the same can be said for the acting ensemble, including a few veterans from Variola Vera. T. T. Syndrome became acult film in Serbia and even managed to get into several international genre festivals: Brussels, Sitges, Barcelona, Puchon, Luxembourg, Neuchatel, Ravenna, Trieste.
Story: 17-year old schoolgirl Luchino has a smoking problem. In an oppressive, futuristic society where smoking is prohibited, her attempt to violate this rule accidentally sets off a fire and explosion in one of the corridors. Running away, she ends up in an elevator, which is the main means of transport within the crammed megalopolis (which we never see, but so we’re told). Pretty soon she gets trapped there with a group of unusual characters, including two convicted rapists being escorted to their execution. Of course, they are not in chains for long, and then… blood splatters the sickly-greenish walls and floor…
Review: The title HELLEVATOR makes this sound like a cheesy Charles Band production (say, about a killer elevator in a ‘modern’ high-rise; or, a gateway to hell posing as an elevator, or some such); however, the original title BOTTLED FOOLS doesn’t make it sound much better. Under any other name, this rose would still smell low-budget but, luckily, this is not the type of flick the title(s) would make you expect. HELLEVATOR belongs to a subgenre that fat encyclopedias usually define as ‘a bunch of unsympathetic caricatures (or was it ‘characters’?) confined to a single set, yelling at each other for at least 90 minutes’. Being trapped in an elevator is bad enough; but, to be trapped with a gang of hysterically screaming Japanese provides a totally new definition of Hell - so I guess the American title is accurate after all. Add a couple of rapists and a mad scientist to liven up the proceedings, and you get bottled fools too.
The futuristic design and claustrophobic setting led some to compare this effort to a budgetary-challenged Canadian SF-horror CUBE (1998), and to be honest – some similarities are there: one main set, poor acting, lots of screaming, quite a lot achieved from the limited resources, etc. The main difference with CUBE and other members of the ‘confined claustrophobic quarrelling’ subgenre is that there is no immediate threat in the setting, or from outside. Horror comes mostly from inside the elevator. Freud said something like ‘A man is a wolf to another man’: or, to put it simply, it’s people giving hell to one another in this film. And not just the usual suspects (or convicts) either! Torment also comes from inside, since our main character, Luchino, is plagued by the memory of killing her abusive father (talk about Freud!), and – to add insult to injury – her telepathic abilities which enable her to peek into the unsavory minds of her fellow passengers.
HELLEVATOR was directed by Hiroki Yamaguchi, revealed in the additional features on the disc as a likable young man in his mid-twenties. Orson Wells he ain’t, but let’s say he could become a solid Japanese Don Coscarelli. Shot on digital video, with a group of unknowns, using (literally) discarded waste materialfor the sets, HELLEVATOR does not (and cannot) hide its very low budget origins. Yamaguchi uses all kinds of editing tricks to overcome the limitations of his setting and make the rhythm faster. Decent lighting and framing make the grainy images palatable, although the pea-soup-vomit color of the inside of elevator may become too oppressive after a while. In spite of no budget, Yamaguchi even managed to squeeze in an amazingly accomplished bullet-time sequence, and the ‘Making of’ documentary reveals the unbelievably simple way it was done!
All this is very well, but how much fun is there to be had on this HELLEVATOR ride? Let’s see. Gore is flowing freely: no complex latex effects here, but red spells red. The obligatory rape scene is there, too. What, you thought the Japanese would make a SF-horror without one? Hey, that would be like a good old American slasher from the ’80-ies without a shower scene! Cool gadgets made of scrap? Check! Uber-cool characters? There’s this guy with dark shades and a walkman, sitting in a corner, unmoved through most of the carnage; how’s that for ‘cool’? Heroine, on the other hand, is pretty, but bland (let’s say: pretty bland). All the rest are the kind you cannot wait to see dispatched ASAP. Any subtext for your intellect to chew on? Well, you might read some into it, what with the oppressive society of the future as imagined by a teenage boy who hasn’t read much else than manga, but that’s as far as it gets. The ‘twist’ ending might give you some food for thoughts, provided you freeze-frame it to see what’s there for 15 frames (non-Japanese viewers are advised to watch the interviews on the disc for further explanation. Note: that blink-and-miss image was NOT the Eiffel tower!).
The end result is a watchable, occasionally entertaining, but mostly underdeveloped and uninvolving film. It is a great showcase for its director: we should pray that he gets more money, and more inspiration, for his further films, for he certainly showed a considerable technical talent here. In the future, let’s hope for more substance to his stories, and more budget and style to his direction. Till then, you may want to rent this, but I’m not sure how much it deserves to be owned and re-watched.
Cast:Meiko Kaji, Yayoi Watanabe, Takashi Fujiki, Koji Fujiyama
GHOUL RATING:
*** (3)
Story: Some 'prisoner'! Matsu the Scorpion (Meiko Kaji) spends most of her time running away from the cops and criminals (usually equally sleazy and interchangeable!), and pissing off the bossy prisoners if/when temporarily imprisoned. This time, in the third part of the series, she is offered a hiding place with a prostitute who's pregnant with her mentally challenged brother's child. Matsu is captured by the colorful criminals and put in a cage with ravens. As usual, it doesn't take long before she escapes, leaving blood-sprayed walls and white sheets behind. Forced to hide in the sewers, Matsu is helped by the prostitute who brings her food, but the police follow her trail and prepare one last trap, filling the sewers with gas and lighting a match…
Review: The film opens with one of the all time greatest credits scenes: caught and handcuffed by a cop in the subway, Matsu severs his arm with a knife and runs away with it still attached to her wrist. She's running through half of the city with a bloody arm dangling around her while the great "Urami Bushi"theme song is playing over the credits. Yeah, it doesn't make much sense (talk about drawing attention to yourself!), but the FEMALE PRISONER series is not about making sense, it's about looking beautiful and cool while being outrageous. The first three parts of the series, all directed by Shunya Ito, firmly reside on the border between fanciful exploitation and art cinema, providing a full spectrum of cinematic pleasure for the viewer inclined towards the weird, unusual, irrational.
BEAST STABLE is slightly more restrained in terms of excessively surreal imagery, but that's only in comparison to the previous part (FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41), which is matchless and best in the series. On its own, it is a non-stop sequence of wonderful imagery with vivid colors, imaginative framing, quick editing, fine camping, and unpredictable bursts of ultra-violence. The characters, situations and actions are over the top, but that's exactly what makes this series a darling among the fans of real good exploitation (Tarantino included). Let's check some elements of this concoction. Severed arm. Prostitution. Tits. Retards. Rape. Boiling water in the face. Golf club genital torture. Ravens. Gynecological punishment. Scalpel revenge. Trial by fire. Psychological torture. Razor strangling. And much more. No one can call Shunya Ito an underachiever! He delivers!
And talking about delivery, Meiko Kaji delivers, too. She's at the top of her game, mostly silent, but with expressive features and developed body language which speak volumes. She's certainly one of the coolest characters of action-crime genre ever, anywhere, and is a joy to watch in every second she's onscreen. The violence and extreme content in the film are beautifully stylized so as to be enjoyed as fantasy (after all, this series is based on a manga): you won't feel dirty after watching the film, but will beg for more.
And more comes in the fourth part, FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION:GRUDGE SONG, but, unfortunately, it's not directed by Ito, and it shows. Meiko Kaji is still there, so it's certainly worth watching, but the direction is not so stylish (except for the ending, which is so overripe it's just ridiculous). The screenplay provides some really out-of-place moments, like the sub-plot about Matsu's love affair (!), and the flick is not even dynamic or eventful enough to fully satisfy those spoiled by the first three parts, although it's decent enough for fans of this kind of entertainment.
DVD [ NTSC, Region 1 ] :FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: BEAST STABLE is presented in an anamorphic widescreen with the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio preserved. Made from a solid print, it shows off vivid colors and fine contrasts. The sound is only Japanese (who would want an English dub anyway?), in Dolby Digital mono. Translation and subtitles are excellent and make the enjoyment of the film a smooth ride. It could use some more extras (like, commentaries or interviews), since it that department all the disc offers are trailers, scene access and image gallery. The same kind of extras are there on the GRUDGE SONG disc, too, but it must be said that the image of that film is not presented so perfectly (dark scenes are too bright, with weak contrasts). If you had to choose only one of these two, there's absolutely no doubt which to take (Part three! Part three! BEAST STABLE!), but lovers of the series and completists will (understandably) want both of these, and won't regret the decision.
If you like horror in any shape or form, then you must've read one of the greatest, scariest and most intelligent SF-horror novels of the 20th century - AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS by H. P. Lovecraft.
And, if you like horror movies, then you probably know that Guillermo del Toro (HELLBOY) is set to direct a solid-budget version of AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS with James Cameron producing. The recent announcement that the long-gestating project will be financed by Cameron's AVATAR money was largely considered good news. With dozens of announced Del Toro projects in various stages, this development made it seem like this particular film is going to happen, after all. And reasonably soon, too.
Well, I managed to lay my tentacles on the screenplay for AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, written by Guillermo Del Toro and Matthew Robbins, and here's what I thought of it.
Before you read it, just a brief note - as it turns out, the version of the script this review is based on is a slightly older one: there were three more drafts after this one. See the PS note at the bottom of this text.
Briefly: it feels like a HELLBOY movie without Hellboy, with a light dose of Carpenter's THE THING.
It's not as bleak as Lovecraft's novel or Carpenter's film which was vaguely inspired by the spirit of this same novel, although based on J. W. Campbell's novella. With the kind of budget this film will require one cannot reasonably expect it to go too far into the unconventional and risqué territory. I guess we should be content with the fact that this is most definitely a script for an R-rated monster-fest and there's no way of cutting it down to a PG-13 or some such shit without throwing more than a half away. However, with all the monster-mayhem, this still remains a Lovecraft-lite project.
There's plenty to like and a few things to dislike in this script.
AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, as written by Del Toro and Robbins, is definitely aimed at those who "know" their Lovecraft from second- or third-hand: not directly from his stories, but from the way his work was re-imagined and grotesquely dumbed-down by the pop-culture. by this I mean his genre fiction "followers" (in name only, mostly), comics, video-games, RPG, heavy metal songs and the like. Those who perceive Lovecraft merely as an eccentric who wrote about some cool mega-monsters with lots of tentacles and slimy orifices are in for a treat here. Because that's ALL of Lovecraft they're gonna get. Those who expect a certain meaning and symbolism behind those "monsters" – those who expect philosophy – cosmic horror – loads of atmosphere, suspense, build-up... Well, not much of that, sadly.
It is a period piece: the frame story takes place in 1939, at the very beginning of World War 2 (quite unnecessary and silly parallel!), but the bulk of the film is made up of a flashback narration by the last survivor of the previous expedition to the South Pole from 1930. Of course, it is told to the chief of the new expedition going there… This being a classic, I guess there's no need for going too much into details, you know the plot. Scientists go to Antarctica, find remnants of primaeval, alien creatures, reveal terrible things about the (pre)human history. In this version, it si somewhat simplified into: Scientists go to Antarctica, resurrect primaeval monsters, mayhem ensues.
WHAT TO EXPECT?
1) More monsters, creatures, mutants, hybrids than in the entire Lovecraft's opus.
Just to make myself clear: I love me some cool movie monsters as any guy, and then some. Especially if those monsters are made-up of humans – men and women merging with things, or other creatures, human forms emerging from blobs of alien flesh with plenty of tentacles... ehhh, there's nothing out there in horror cinema to please me more. This script takes Lovecraft's concept of Shoggoths – large blobs of intelligent protoplasm which can assume any shape (including human) – and runs with it to lengths that Lovecraft never bothered with. In his novel, those creatures had a clever role in the complex history of the rise and fall of The Old Ones (basically, slaves rebelling and destroying their masters). In this film, they are a perfect alibi for countless scenes of cool monster action – those blobs swallowing, partly digesting and re-creating humans (and dogs) into shapes nature never intended. The bigger picture they belong to is paid just a brief lip service, in a couple of lines of dialogue you might just miss while checking your text messages.
Yes, there will be inevitable comparisons to THE THING: the magnitude of some shape-shifting scenes here definitely surpasses what Carpenter (and Rob Bottin) concocted; there are dog-things and dog-related action similar to THE THING as well; and some brief "is he human or Shoggoth?" doubts – though, what with all the stress on action, there's no time to lose on suspense, atmosphere, drama and stuff like that. Also, there is a much quicker and simpler test here, to see if one is a thing or human.
Like in THE THING, there are numerous characters in this script, briefly sketched, even more so here since there must be at least two dozen of them – plenty of food for Shoggoths, for sure, but only 3 or 4 of them really stand out as characters at all. The main guy, Dyer, is pretty lame, defined solely through the either/or dilemma: pregnant wife at home or scientific breakthrough at the South Pole. (Enter the moralizing tone, typical for Del Toro, and totally absent in Lovecraft – even more obvious in the character of an unscrupulous Doctor Lake, a comic-book Mad Scientist sacrificing everything and everyone to reach his goal. Damn those pulps!)
I never thought I could have too many creatures, but there's such an overload of them in this script that at some point they lose their entire scare factor and become just cool effects in broad snowy daylight – interesting images to enjoy while detachedly observing the fight of two-dimensional characters against them.
As for other thingees: The Old Ones have very little to do (except one human dissection which could be cool unless it's too brief to register); the albino penguins are slightly more prominent in this script than in the novel, but still remain mostly in the role of creepy bystanders; and, in case your monster-thirst remains insatiated, at the very end there is (yet another) appearance of Cthulhu itself! This last detail (if you can consider the mountain-sized monster – a detail!) is not only incongruous but downright stupid. Cthulhu is supposed to be "sleeping" in the deep warm waters of Pacific Ocean in his lair at R'Lyeh – not in the ice wastes of Antarctica!
No, this is not just some "geek" nit-picking: I'm all for artistic liberties and reimaginings (and there's plenty of those in this script – some of them fine), but bringing Cthulhu into this story out of nowhere makes absolutely no sense whatsoever within the film's own dumbed-down "mythology". It seems like an artificial, forced attempt at upping the ante and out-climaxing the climax – but, with no rhyme or reason. Hell, bring in Yog Sothoth and Shub Niggurath to the party, too. The more, the merrier! Or not?
Much as Lovecraft was accused of not knowing when to stop, his balanced, mostly restrained prose and well-thought narrative from his masterwork is used here as a starting point for a non-plus-ultra in monster-exaggeration with very little subtlety preserved. Lovecraft was forced to publish most of his works in pulp magazines, but his best work (such as AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS) is most definitely NOT pulp fiction. This script, in its essence, IS pulp – but big budget may hide this fact from many. And after decades of cheap direct to video in name only "adaptations" with shoddy effects and laughable dialogues – Del Toro's large-scale version will certainly be a step-up and a welcome improvement, at least in terms of visuals. Other than THE THING, FROM BEYOND, DEEP RISING and HELLBOY, few other films have even tried creatures this elaborate. That department certainly won't disappoint.
2) More action, action and action than in the entire Lovecraft's opus.
There are fights, flights, chases, shoot-outs, cliffhangers, last second salvations, big explosions... The pace is quick: once the action starts, around 30 minute mark, it never stops. NEVER. So, once this gets made and you go to the theater (as you should!), grab your popcorn in time and go to the bathroom BEFORE the film, because there's not a minute of non-action here to waste.
This approach is understandable in the light of bringing droves (and drones) of youthful audience into the theatre: Del Toro certainly doesn't want to bore them with some big thoughts or life-changing revelations. He's out there to entertain you with incredible creatures, action and 'splosions. Nothing wrong with that – unless you're one of a dozen remaining people on this planet who still believe that Lovecraft was about more, much more than that.
WHAT NOT TO EXPECT?
1) There's relatively little stress on atmosphere. OK, the Antarctica setting is spooky in itself, but it's mostly used as a background for chase and action scenes. Very little space for poetry and weird, alien beauty of the landscape. Hopefully they add some of that.
2) Don't expect a long and complex retelling of the history of the Old Ones – the bit that, according to many critics, is the key innovative element of Lovecraft's novel. It is the narrative which powerfully surpasses the pulpy Good/Evil dichotomies and presents a complex, clever and highly relevant account incomparable to genre fiction of its times – or to genre movies of our times, apparently. In this script, it is reduced to 3 or 4 sentences. I hope they make it a bit longer, and stress the human place in the entire story more convincingly and powerfully.
3) The section from the novel when the expedition goes deep, deep, insanely deep into the bowels of the Mountains of madness is entirely gone. Perhaps the scariest part of the book is gone completely. The submerged city in the deep caverns, too. None of that here. And very little exploring of the city above, as well. It seems like they discover the bas-reliefs with the Old Ones' history in the first building they come across, and that's it. I wanted to see more of the deserted city of the Old Ones!
4) Don't expect the same ending as in the novel. Expect a more predictable one.
To sum up: it all depends on your expectations. It'll definitely be an entertaining creature feature. The big budget will certainly buy some creative people to depict those cool monsters, and it will be a joy to see them on a big screen, in 3-D. I'll be there to see it the first chance I get, no doubt about it.
If, on the other hand, you're not too happy with the idea of turning Lovecraft's far more complex (and scary!) novel into a rollercoaster monster romp, well, tough luck. You'll have to pray to Azathoth that this film earns enough money for a much belated resurrection of Lovecraft at the movies. With greater interest for his stuff among the movie audiences, who knows, maybe someone, some day, will conceive and produce a truly Lovecraftian film which will not be pulp – a film to capture Lovecraft's spirit, not just creatures? For now, we'll have to be content with those.
PS: In the meantime, I got a message from someone close to the production in reaction to my review, and he said that the version I read & reviewed above is older, an that there are some (minor, I'd say) changes in the current version. Also, that the Thing appearing at the end is not really Cthulhu (as it was labelled in the version I read), but that it is some other, nameless 'deity'. This person also said that much of the detail remains VISUAL instead of TEXTUAL or dialogue oriented. What I called "poetry" and "atmosphere" is entirely dependant on execution, tempo and visual design, and thus not "scriptable". Or so they say.
Let's see.
With all possible pitfalls I mentioned (and some that I hadn't – like the WW2 allusions, which, for me, diminish the timeless horrors of Lovecraft to a historically superseded and all-too-human nazi horror), Del Toro's film is still the best chance Lovecraftian cinema has to break through from the confines of schlocky B-movies. With all due respect to Stuart Gordon, whom I interviewed a month ago at Fantasia (and whose work I more than respect and love!), I think Del Toro is the only real hope for truly Lovecraftian cinema at this moment, especially on this large scale. Well, maybe a mutant between Carpenter, Herzog and Lynch would do a better job at capturing the 'madness' part of these mountains, but as things stand, he's the one holding the torch. I can only pray that the production does not require too many compromises, and that they let him make an adequately dark and provoking vision of truly epic, alien terror.
PPS: A few more exclusive MADNESS pics, made in the John Hay Library at the Brown University, Providence, RI.
1. A certain Lovecraftian scholar poring over the original manuscript of HPL's MOUNTAINS:
2. Lovecraft's magazines with his stories in them + more of the MOUNTAINS manuscript:
3. A certain Lovecraftian scholar with Lovecraft's own copy of the issue of ASTOUNDING in which MOUNTAINS was originally published.
"Can you look around this world and believe in goodness of a god who rules it?! Famine, pestilence, slaughter, disease and death... They rule this world. If a god of love and light ever did exist, he's long since dead. Someone... Something... rules in his place..." -Prince Prospero-
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Dejan Ognjanović CONTACT: dogstar666 -et- yahoo -dot- com
Dejan Ognjanovic was born in Nis, Serbia, in 1973. He worked as a TA in American Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy, Nis (1999-2009). Got his MA in 2009 ('Gothic Motifs in the Works of E. A. Poe') and his PhD in 2012 ('Historical Poetics of Horror Genre in Anglo-American Literature'). Writes book and film reviews and articles for Rue Morgue magazine. In Serbia he has published 9 books: novels In Vivo (2003) and The Seducer (2014); three studies: Faustian Screen: The Devil in Cinema (2006), In the Hills, the Horrors: Serbian Horror Film (2007) and Poetics of Horror (2014), a collection of essays A Study in Terror (2008) and a book of interviews More than Truth (2017); and he edited H. P. Lovecraft's best stories (Nekronomikon, 2008.) and co-edited The New Frames (2008), on Serbian cinema. His essays were published in the books edited by Steven Schneider: 100 European Horror Films, 501 Movie Directors, 101 Horror / SF / Gangster / War Movies You Must See Before You Die, and also in Speaking of Monsters (2012) and Digital Nightmares (2015). He is an editor at Orfelin Publishing (Novi Sad, Serbia). His reviews in English can be found at Beyond Hollywood, Unrated and Quiet Earth.
