Lianne Spiderbaby (Lianne MacDougall) is a writer for Fangoria, Cineplex, Famous Monsters, FearNet, Film Journal International and Video Watchdog magazine. Her new book, Grindhouse Girls: Cinema’s Hardest Working Women, is being published by St. Martin's Press. Lianne is also the host of Fright Bytes, and her journalistic force has started to "bleed" out of the horror genre and into the mainstream. Lianne Spiderbaby holds an honors degree in Film Studies, University of Toronto.
Piranha 3D did exceptionally well in theatres this weekend, considering it has an 18A/R rating. Critics are eating it up, and the film is selling as the “most fun you’ll have in the theatre this summer”! At most, I was mildly entertained. The film wasn’t scary, it wasn’t clever, and it wasn’t shocking. At times, Piranha 3D made me feel like I was watching an episode of Jersey Shore (I’ve only watched half of one episode, before throwing up in my mouth a little, and changing the channel).
After a minor underwater earthquake in Lake Victoria, prehistoric piranhas are set free to fish-feast upon thousands of spring breakers over the course of a weekend. Sheriff Julie Forester (Elizabeth Shue) and company must save the town and her family, before the feisty fish devour everyone. The plot itself is campy, and there are occasional comedic lines in the film, but what might have been funny in a low budget B-rate horror film is embarrassing in this $24 million dollar, high technology feature.
The protagonists in the film are so poorly developed, that when their lives are at risk, it’s difficult to care for their safety. The only actor worth saving in this film is Derrick Jones (Jerry O’Connell), and his over-the-top pervert character. The brief cameos made by Richard Dreyfuss and Christopher Lloyd take themselves too seriously, and fail as a selling point in the context of the film.
The film is devoted to tits and ass – some of which is fine – it’s a horror film after all. However, in Piranha 3D, it’s downright degrading and tiresome. I’d like to think that the genre has evolved a little. The slightly more covered-up Kelly (Jessica Szohr) plays a romantic interest for Jake (Steven R. McQueen), who couldn’t be less charismatic, even with a decent script – and I think that is what is essentially wrong with the film itself – the writing behind it.
Many of the scenes in Piranha 3D were immature, and at a spry 26 years of age, I felt too old to be at the theatre. Perhaps what also turned my stomach was the fact that there were young children at the screening. Canada’s rating system needs an overhaul, because parents are making poor choices about what their small children should see at the theatre. I’m certain that a piranha-inflicted-castration is not toddler age appropriate. I wouldn’t lie to you, friendly horror comrades – there were babies in the building.
What kept me from walking out was the slaughter scene on the beach. There is nothing like seeing countless, ignorant, and careless spring breakers get ripped to pieces by fish with teeth. The deaths were graphic, detailed, unique, and well executed. Typically, I dislike horror films that rely too heavily on CGI effects, but the computer graphic imaging in this film was very well done, as were the special effects - courtesy of KNB Effects. However, while the slaughter-beach-scene was very enjoyable, getting up to it, and then waiting for the credits to roll afterward was a tedious process.
Oh Aja… I thought you were the one. As much as it breaks my heart to say this, Aja’s next project, The Contractor, is a drama - and this is a good thing. It seems as though someone could use a time-out from the horror genre, unless he’s coming in with an original script.
However, I should have known better, because when Eli Roth (produced The Last Exorcism) has anything to do with a film, we can only expect the unexpected. Roth has been keeping spectators on their toes ever since his debut feature, Cabin Fever - gore and blood were non-stop until the end of the film, which wrapped up in humour and made light of a terrible tragedy. As an actor, Roth surprised us in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds when his character, the Bear Jew, mowed down Hitler with gunfire. In this tradition of the unexpected, The Last Exorcism did not disappoint its audience. There are plenty of unexpected twists and turns, right up until the credits roll.
The film begins with an introduction to Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), a preacher who has been questioning his faith. His son was born prematurely, and Cotton depended on doctors to save his son's life, rather than the big man upstairs. Cotton Marcus is participating in this “documentary” because he wants to expose the church's practice of fraudulent exorcisms. Cotton is going to perform his last exorcism on camera to expose the truth. Fabian does a wonderful job as Cotton Marcus. He is clever, funny, and so charismatic that he can recite a passage about banana bread during his sermon, and the crowd yells 'amen'! As spectators, we warm up to Cotton almost instantly, and we're on board with whatever he wants to do, and wherever he wants to take us, including an old farm house set deep in Louisiana, to perform his last exorcism. Sure, why not?
When he arrives on the farm of Louis Sweetzer, Cotton expects to perform just another routine “exorcism” on a troubled religious fanatic. Sweetzer is certain his teenage daughter Nell (Ashley Bell) is possessed by a demon who must be exorcized before their family suffers unimaginable tragedy. Upon arriving at the household, it is clear that nothing could have prepared Cotton and his film crew for the evil they encounter. Too late to turn back, Cotton's own beliefs are challenged when he must save Nell, and himself, before it is too late.
The Last Exorcism plays with it's audience - we're never sure whether Nell is possessed by a demon, or if she suffers from deep, psychological trauma. We must fear the unknown, and we cannot be sure of anything. The film is not just another re-hash of The Exorcist, where we could take comfort in the fact that Ragan was undoubtedly possessed, and confined to her room when the going got tough. Nell is not chained to her bed - she is able to roam free around the farm. Director Stamm did a great job of directing his cast - Ashley Bell's ability to contort her own body, and bend backward without the help of computer-graphic imaging is astounding and frightening on it's own.
The Last Exorcism will keep you engaged until the very end - and the ending itself will shock, confuse, and surprise you (would you expect anything different from Eli Roth)? During the Q&A with the cast after the film, Roth stated that it was important for the film to end (a sequel is not in the works), and discussion to begin. The film definitely lends itself to discussion and further questioning, even of your own faith. Perhaps in God and the Devil, but certainly in the horror genre and the inventive approach of The Last Exorcism.
With the passing of my Grandmother, I've given a lot of thought to my family history, and my heritage. My father's side of the family is genuinely fascinating, perhaps because of how little we actually know about my grandfather's life in Scotland. I grew up in a suburb rich with new immigrants who held on to their culture as tightly as they could. Unsure of my own culture, I started watching Scottish films (naturally, I began this journey with Trainspotting), reading Scottish & Irish books, and reading from a Gaelic dictionary. After my first year in university, I was declaring a minor in Celtic Literature and History/Culture. In order to merge this with my true scholarly-love, Cinema studies, I started writing on films from/about Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Perhaps one of my favourite "Scottish" films is Lars von Trier's Breaking The Waves. von Trier is from Denmark, and the film's leading actress, Emily Watson, is English. The film only takes place in Scotland. However, I think von Trier did a great job portraying Scottish identity for the time period in which the film takes place. I wrote this a few years ago, but I watched the film again recently, and I still love it more than ever.
Lars von Trier’s Breaking The Waves (1996) illustrates some of the ways in which patriarchal society, religion, and competing cultural morals are situated in small town Scotland in the 1970s. von Trier’s Breaking The Waves employs an aesthetic of social realism (derived from the documentary-realist tradition) in order to reflect the character of Bess and her struggle of personal identity in a overtly religious, northern Scottish town (McLune, 41). In Breaking The Waves, von Trier makes use of the hand-held camera, realistic diegetic sound, and natural mise-en-scene to create a depiction of verisimilitude. On a narrational level, von Trier combines aspects of religious mysticism with worldy realism to portray a story about a woman named Bess (Emily Watson), who is caught up in love, religious faith, sex, and sacrifice. Thus, Breaking The Waves’ realistic aesthetic in conjunction with the character of Bess MacNeil renegotiates a sense of Scottish national identity in relation to religion, and the clash of opposing cultural morals.
Breaking The Waves is set in the Scottish highlands in the 1970s. This is signified to the viewer through the mise-en-scene and the music in between chapters of the film. All of the music is from the 70s (Deep Purple, Rod Stewart, Elton John). The story centers around the character of Bess MacNeil, who marries an oil rig worker and outsider named Jan. Her marriage to Jan goes against the apprehensions of her community and her strict local Church. Bess struggles when Jan leaves to work at the oil platform. She prays to God for him to return, and he does return but he has been paralyzed after an accident on the job. Bess believes it is her fault Jan is hurt, and as he is no longer able to make love to her, so he urges her to find and have sex with other men. Bess slowly begins to believe that the sex she has with other men is the wish of God.
One of the most salient aspects of von Trier’s Breaking The Waves is it’s undeniable sense of realism and truth. The film begins with a short prologue that sets the narrative in motion. The first frame after the title of the film is a close up of Bess MacNeil’s face looking directly into the camera. Her face is childlike and innocent. Wide-eyed with adoration over her love for Jan, her expressive and bright face is in stark contrast to the cold and severe faces of the Church elders who interrogate her about her choice to marry an outsider. Bess declares, “His name is Jan”, which is met the the elder’s response “I do not know him.” These two competing images demonstrate the moral landscape upon which battles over competing notions of religious morals and “the good”. In this prologue, Bess and the elders never appear in the same frame during the interrogation. This visualization of their separate beings portrays difference and opposing cultural morals. In this scene, von Trier’s visual separation suggests that the elders and Bess will never agree or be reconciled. The close ups of Bess’s face create a closeness between the spectator and her character. She is innocently pretty and her eyes are extremely expressive which draws the spectator in. Her subjective psychology shines through her facial expressions and moments of contemplation. There are several shots in the film where the viewer is shown a long take (usually in close up) of Bess’s face. These close-ups (that are not manipulated by editing) allow the spectator to understand the character of Bess in a way that even her sister in law, mother, and husband are not privy to. These close-ups combined with the use of the hand-held camera convey a sense of reality to the viewer.
The use of the hand-held camera gives the feel of the film a documentary sense of truth. What is shown on screen then is somewhat believable to the viewer. The hand-held camera gives the impression that Bess, or what is being shown on screen is true to reality. The hand-held camera frequently isolates Bess from others in several scenes, particularly in emotionally charged situations. Her joyous, or tearful face fills the frame before the camera takes in the larger context (whether it be her home, the hospital, or the bar where she meets sexual clients). Bess is the most prominent aspect of the story and the hand-held camera seeks her out as the center around which the rest of the narrative revolves around. By focusing so intently on Bess’s face, the hand-held camera creates a realistic intimacy between her and the viewer. The mise-en-scene is also very natural. von Trier shoots many scenes of the film on location outdoors in Scotland, and the sets that are constructed are made to look and feel natural and realistic. In the first prologue scene with Bess in the Church, natural lighting is used to once again reinforce the notion of realism. Bess is also not wearing much make-up and her clothes are natural and simple. In this scene, the way Bess is filmed, and her actions (wanting to marry an outsider, who is not himself religious or a Scotsman) renegotiate Scottish national and religious identity, as well as convey a clash between the elders and Bess’s cultural morals.
Breaking The Waves suggests a similarity between the character of Bess and the Christian religious figure of Jesus. Bess makes several sacrifices for her husband Jan, after he is paralyzed and in the hospital. He requests that Bess goes out and has sex with other men, and then return to tell him about her experiences. Bess believes that committing adultery in this case is just and good because her husband has asked it of her. She also believes that having sex with other men (although she does not enjoy it) is saving Jan’s life. Bess’s sacrifices for Jan through her own sexual violation have a Christlike goodness, for they are not portrayed as acts of corruption, but signs of her passionate and unquestioned faith. Associations between Bess and the figure of Christ are related with visual and narrative resonance. For example, Bess is condemned by the elders of the Law, she suffers for the sake of those she loves, and ultimately she offers a path to salvation. As Jesus was condemned by society, Bess is also criticized by her community. This occurs in the scene where Bess is on her bike and children throw stones at her. Bess sacrificed herself for love (like Jesus), and in the end a miracle occurs and Jan walks again (with the help of crutches).
In relation to Bess as a Christ figure in the film, von Trier parallels her religious experiences directly with her sexual experiences. The film interweaves scenes where she is having sex with Jan with scenes of Bess speaking to (and for) God, trying to cope with the aftermath of her husband’s accident and trying to save his life by making a whore of herself. The first conversation with God to which spectators are privy takes place right after a scene in which Bess and Jan have sex on their wedding night. The intimacy of this scene, like all the scenes of their lovemaking, are created through a voyeuristic use of (at times) uncomfortable close ups. The scene ends, and then dissolves into an image of Bess kneeling by a pew thanking God for the gift of love. Bess and Jan’s bedroom projects a warm mise-en-scene, with colours of gold and sepia tones. Natural lighting is used once again to create a sense of realism in the scene. This image is juxtapositioned directly with the cold, harsh tones of the Church and Bess sitting at the pew. Bess not only speaks to God, but she also speaks for God, replying to her own requests. By attributing Bess to both her own voice and that of God’s, a sense of irony is created between Bess and the elders who believe only they can speak to God on behalf of the small Scottish community. By speaking on behalf of God, Bess once again is renegotiating the ideals around religion in Scotland during this period, as well as opposing cultural morality. By having sex with other men while Jan is paralyzed, Bess believes she is doing good. She believes she is doing right by her husband and thus, right by God. The Calvinist Church in Scotland at the time forbids women (and Bess) to speak in church. In a culture that believes that women should be silent and absent, Bess is both vocal and present. Bess threatens Scottish patriarchal, and religious and identity, transforming common believe into chaos.
von Trier’s use of sound in the film adds to the realistic, almost documentary-like feel of the film. For example, when Jan arrives late for the wedding, Bess beats him with her small fists, and the noise of the helicopter adds to the hysteria of the scene. Later, when Jan has to leave for work on the oil rig, Bess cries in protest, attempting to open the door of the helicopter. During these scenes, the noise of the helicopter is so loud that the spectator cannot really hear or make out what the actors themselves are saying. Sound also plays an important role in terms of narration. When the elders of the Church ask Bess if she “can think of any real value that the outsiders have brought with them”, Bess replies, “their music.” Music itself is crucial and marks pivotal points in the film. Traditional Scottish music (diegetic sound) is played on bagpipes at Bess’ wedding. Nontraditional music (nondiegetic sound) is played as an accompaniment to the images that von Trier uses to mark chapter breaks as well. The music is psychedelic, as are the images of scenic parts of Scotland. However, these images are manipulated to look like a painting, but slightly more realistic. This is a critique of the typical long takes of landscape a viewer might see in Celtic films. In von Trier’s scenic images of Scotland’s highlands, the images are manipulated and 70s rock music is played over them. Scottish cultural music is used against contemporary rock songs, which works to renegotiate the idea of Scottish national identity. These landscape shots also portray an aspect of mysticism to the viewer, in contrast to the film’s overall realistic feel.
This notion of mysticism is forgrounded explicitly at the very end of the film when a final shot is shown of miraculous bells ringing high over the ocean and the oil rig. The church bells hav emany mystic and symbolic implications for the film. Firstly, the bells warrant the idea of Bess’s martyrdom or her portrayal as a Christ figure in relation to the redemption of Christ. Secondly, the image of the bells offers an alternative on the perspective that is preached by the elders and the Church as well. Thirdly, the bells affirm the possibility that goodness comes in many different shapes and forms. For example, in the beginning of the film, bells are associated with Bess and her religious choices. After her marriage ceremony, Jan’s friend asks why there are no Church bells ringing. An elder tells him that the Church has no bells, and no use for them. Later in the film after a Church service, Jan asks the pastor why there are no bells. The pastor tells him that bells are simply a man’s creation and they are not needed to worship God. Bess whispers to Jan that she once heard bells and she loved them. Both Bess and the Church bells in the film are silenced by the elders who represent the old Scottish religious culture. The symbolic (and in the final scene, mystic) association between Bess and the bells leads logically to the final scene that I mentioned in the beginning of this paragraph. Bess is refused a proper burial by the Church because of her transgressions, but Jan believes in her goodness and steals her body to bury it at sea. Bess’ salvation is made visual when the miracle of ringing bells sound out over the ocean. Bess is redeemed in the image of the bells, bringing her into the light, and out from the darkness of conservative and religious morals in Scottish culture.
In Lars von Trier’s Breaking The Waves the hand-held camera, natural mise-en-scene, and realistic sound work to create an aesthetic of reality that assists the narrative about a female’s subversion of identity in a conservative, Scottish town. Although the film has a realistic appearance, and the portrayal of Bess’s character psychology is very realistic, the narrative posits some mystic aspects to the film as well. For example, the Church bells at the very end of the film and the painting/landscape images that divide the chapters in the story. von Trier combines aspects of religious and scenic mysticism with earthly realism to portray a story about unconditional love, religious faith, questionable sex, and self sacrifice. The realistic aesthetic in conjunction with the character of Bess MacNeil renegotiates Scottish identity in relation to the elders in the film, religious traditions, and cultural morals.
Researched & Quoted:
McLune, Martin. “Man Of Aran” The Cinema Of Britain & Ireland. ed. Brian McFarlane, Wallflower Press: 2005.
This song is in Scottish gaelic - I was able to translate it in University, but I listen to it now, and it's very blurry. I'm slightly disappointed in myself.
My grandmother recently passed away, and I've been putting together beautiful collections of her old photos. I found an old Polaroid camera in the very back of her closet as well, so I'm working with it (the film for Polaroid cameras is atrociously expensive, by the way) to make a family-art-project using the photographs. I'm hoping to scan all of this in and share it with you one of these days. The picture above this paragraph is of my Grandmother when she was young. I love it. I found so many amazing photographs, including a few from WW1 era (my grandfather's father, I suspect). I've been busy contacting the war museum in Ottawa amongst others to find out as much as I can about the photographs. Busy as a bee, you see.
I will also have a review up for The Last Exorcism, which I'm going to the Toronto premiere of on Monday. Eli Roth will be there, which is exciting. Cabin Fever is still one of the best horror films I've ever seen. That review will be posted Wednesday evening.
I have TWITTER now, so I think you should follow me, and I'll follow you back. Send me your pillow - the one that you dream on. www.twitter.com/liannemac.
I've been listening to a lot of Kate Bush lately. This wonderful woman made some of the best music videos. I'll share 'Lily' with you. Enjoy it! See you on Wednesday!
