#cos Italian horror continues to be the worst

[ennaih]

Every Film I Watch In 2023:

234. Lady Frankenstein (1971)

[heyheyloki]

Lost In Translation

Summary: Halloween Special (yes it’s a few days late whoops)

Aaron Hotchner x M!Reader

Word Count: 2409

It was finally the time for kids to dress up as their favorite superheroes, teens to disobey their parents and party, and finally, adults like you to work a case during your favorite holiday. You even prayed to god, which wasn’t something you did, like ever. But you did. You prayed that there would be no case tonight, that the bad guys would just take a break from killing and kidnapping for just one goddamn night. Sadly, your prayers weren’t answered. 

“Happy Halloween, [Name]!” Garcia shouted with glee when you walked into the meeting room. It seemed to just be the two of you for now. 

“Don’t remind me, please.” You huffed out as you plopped down in your chair. “I’m already depressed enough.”

“Why, sugar?” She asked with a saddened tone, her smile turning down.

“I was supposed to have a night of dancing with random people in masks and casually making out with whoever I pleased,” you huffed. You were so mad about the entire thing that you continued to rant to Garcia without a care. “I mean, can’t the bad guys just take a break for once? I had a whole costume picked out, right? Now, I can’t even wear it cause by the time we get back it’ll be fucking thanksgiving or something.”

You didn’t notice the expression change on Garcia’s face until you finished up, her eyes stared behind you in horror. Seriously, it was like her worst nightmare just walked through the door or something. So, your chair turned your body towards Garica’s fear to make eye contact with your boss, Aaron Hotchner. 

“Ah, well, at least this halloween isn’t totally ruined,” you hummed as a coy smirk inched across your lips as if it belonged there. “At least I get to see some type of candy.”

The absolute silence that struck the room when that left your lips was something you were used to by now, after all, you’ve been the ‘team flirt’ for a while that. The name was given to you by Hotch to make him feel better since you never did flirt with the team, just him, always.

“Watch it,” Morgan teased as he passed by Hotch. Reid was quick to join in the fun with, “Yeah, he might actually fall for it.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe that was my intention?” You questioned as you turned your attention away from your boss and to Reid and Morgan that both sat next to you at the same time.

“Damn, someone’s cranky.” Morgan said.

“I wanted my fun night of kissing random strangers at a club with masks.” You summarized what you said to Garcia. “Instead, I’m stuck hanging with the Scooby Do gang.”

Reid paused. His brows furrowed when he asked, “Scooby Do?”

You stared at him with a deadpanned look before dismissing the entire thing and getting ready for this case to be over with.

On the jet, you kept to yourself in the corner with your headphones blasting music into your brain. Some of your teammates wondered how you haven’t lost even part of your hearing yet. However, as you stared out the window with a far-out look, someone wouldn’t take his eyes off you. 

On the other side of the jet was Hotch with his eyes glued to you, almost like he couldn’t take them off of you no matter how hard he tried. To him, something about you drew him in closer even if he didn’t want to. The words and look you gave him earlier stuck in his mind as it played on repeat, over and over again until he was satisfied. Though, while in his own head, it took Rossi multiple tries to shake the man out of his daze. 

“Damn, only took me ten tries this time.” Rossi said under his breath so only Hotch heard. 

The man sighed, his eyes glancing over towards you once more before eyeing Rossi. “Sorry, I, uh, just spaced out for a moment. What were you saying?”

Rossi gave Hotch an all-knowing look, a look that spoke to him without having the older Italian man to open his damn mouth. “I was just saying that this case is probably going to make us stay for multiple nights.”

“I suppose so.” Hotch replied, not yet catching on.

“It’s in the middle of no where with a low population.” Rossi smirked. “We might have to double up.”

Aaron stared at his long term friend for a moment, his mind running without having his brown eyes show it. However, his mind danced and entertained the fantasy that he would have to double up with you. That there would be one bed. That you would allow him to share the bed with you instead of kicking him to the floor. 

“We’ll see when we get there.”

By the time the first day of investigating ended, the team had no leads and needed a place to crash for the night. The police station wouldn’t do so your team was recommended to a small motel cottage in the middle of the woods. It was cozy and yet somewhat unsettling at the same time. The kind of place were you wouldn’t want to be alone, but wouldn’t mind spending it in the arms of another. 

“I’m not sleeping with Reid.” Morgan suddenly announced to the group once the owner said that she only had single rooms, and only a limited amount of them.

“Who said you were going to?” You smirked as you stared at your co-worker. It was always a trait of yours to tease Morgan or Spence, and you took any opportunity you could.

Morgan gave you a side-glance before looking down at Garcia who was on the couch in the lobby in front of him, her hand resting on his forearm before calling dibs. You saw that coming, but it was quicker than you thought it would be. 

You weren’t too fond of the idea since you had your own quirks when it came to sleeping, but you knew you had to hold off on them for your team member’s sakes. Patiently, you waited to hear who would room with who until your hears heard a loud and clear, “[Name] and Hotch can take a room, I’ll room with Reid, and JJ can room with Prentiss.”

Your eyes, as well as many others, jumped to the voice. You could feel your heart beat furiously against your chest when you saw the smirk across Rossi’s older face. It was one that was up to something, you knew that much, and you didn’t know what until you saw the fear run across Hotch’s chestnut eyes.

In your mischievous mind, you were happy. You were thrilled to be able to push the man that you pined over to his limits tonight. Though, on your logical side, you were terrified. You wanted to protest. You’d say you’d like to room with Reid or ask Garcia to switch with you. Yet, both of them at the same time made something in you anxious for the night. Anxious for the darkness to take over the room and consume you.

When Aaron and you came to the room, you were standing in the doorway with eyes staring blankly at the single bed that rest in the middle of the room. You guessed it, sure, but it was another thing to see it with a man so close next to you.

“I’ll take the floor, you can have the bed.” You hummed out. It surprised you as much as it startled Aaron. Normally, you’d jump at the chance to say something witty and making a flirtatious gesture, but for now, you rather not make him uncomfortable.

“It’s okay.” Aaron said. “You can take the bed.”

You paused. This was a chance, a chance to spit out those words and yet you remained calm and said with your back turned to him, “Okay.”

You wasted no time after that to hop into the shower. It was both a way to get away from your boss and clear your mind all in one go. The water trickled down your naked figure as you ran your fingers through your wet hair. A steady breath of oxygen left past your lips as you tried to empty your mind. Yet, no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t help but think about the man you were sharing a room with tonight. Part of it sucked, and the other half didn’t. Right now though, it sucked. 

You turned off the water before placing a towel around your waist and hopped out the shower. You were about to spend some time on some well-deserved self care before you heard some clashing in the room outside. It startled you to the point where you completely forgot about your composer and ran out the bathroom with the thought of their being trouble on the other side of the door. However, instead of trouble there was just a very troubled Aaron Hotchner trying to do something about his spot on the floor. 

“What the hell!” You yelled out, his eyes immediately locking onto you without a second thought. “You scared the shit outta me, I thought something happened!”

Aaron leaned his head to the side a bit as he raised a brow. “I’m sorry?”

“You better be.” You huffed out. “Jesus, don’t do that shit to me again.”

“I won’t.” Aaron mumbled out as he tried his best to keep his eyes locked on yours. 

It was a moment before you noticed the cool air hitting your bare skin, your eyes widening as you slowly began to back into the bathroom again and stutter out, “Okay, so, uh, if you’re all good then I’m just, uh, gonna finish up real quick.”

You quickly shut the door behind you, your chest falling up and down for a few seconds before stabilizing. It took you a few seconds to get yourself together and finished up in the bathroom. Which, for Aaron, took forever. Seriously, he thought about knocking on the bathroom door and asking if he’d done something wrong. Though, before he was about to, you came out. This time with clothes. It wasn’t anything special, just a loose t-shirt and grey sweatpants. Honestly, the two of you kind of matched with your night clothes.

When you sat on the somewhat hard bed you gazed around the room. It was so bare compared to the other hotels you’ve had during your time with this team. It was almost like you weren’t even on the job but instead having a night out with Hotchner. Honestly, the thought made your body heat up a bit. 

“They could have at least gave us a tv.” You hummed out.

“I’m not sure if they even use those here.” Hotch replied as he laid down on the floor, his eyes studying the plain ceiling above. 

Your eyes were on him from the moment he began speaking. You felt sort of sorry for the man, after all, the bed may not be the softest, but it was better than the hard floor. All of the sheets in the world could never fix something like hard tile floorboards. You knew you didn’t need him having back problems in the morning, after all, he was the team leader. Without him, you weren’t sure if this team was even a team anymore.

So, without a strain in pitch in your voice you said, “Come here.”

Now, when you said it in your mind you thought it would sound better. Aloud, it just sounded either dirty, commanding, or both. Forget about it when he lifted his head up to look at you with narrowed and confused eyes. You swear if you didn’t know any better you were either in it for a scolding or a firing. 

“Sorry,” you recovered quickly. “I mean you can share the bed with me, if you want.”

You watched the confusion leave his hardened orbs quickly. However, they were promptly replaced with something that you couldn’t quite put your finger on. It was so familiar yet unseen with him. 

“It’s alright. You can have it.” He said, though to you, it seemed forced.

You didn’t try and let that bug you too much and quickly kicked it from your thoughts. Your hand came to the sheets of the bed and patted on the sheets, calling him. “C’mon, you’ll strain your back or something if you sleep on the floor.”

Hotch hesitated. He wanted to, desperately almost. Yet, he didn’t at the same time. His yearning looks and shut down feelings around you were what got him through the day, what got him to do this job without solely focusing on you. Although, he couldn’t stop his body lift up from the floor and walk over to you, sitting down at your side.

It was silent for a moment as the tension slowly began to fill up, however, just before it overflowed you said, “What did Jack plan to be for Halloween this year?”

“I thought he was going to be Spiderman, but he changed his mind last minute.” Hotch replied.

“Yeah? To what?”

There was a small pause. Hotch looked down for a moment before gazing up into your eyes with a smile slowly coming to his face and answering, “Me. He said that I was his superhero.”

Your expression began to mirror Hotchner’s face. You knew that this Halloween was destroyed, but at least you gained some joy out of it. “That’s cute, but I’m not surprised.”

“How come?” Hotch questioned, his brows furrowing.

You leaned against Hotchner’s shoulder in a friendly and playful manner before going back to your original position. “Cause he’s got the best dad in the world.”

“Thank you,” Hotch smiled. “And, I’m sorry about this case ruining your day.”

You shrugged your shoulders. “It comes with the job, I shouldn’t be surprised. However, it did save me from a night of bad choices so maybe I should be grateful.”

“Well, if it means anything, I’m happy you’re here instead.” Hotch suddenly revealed.

Your eyes flicked with mischief, your body leaned in on instinct before asking, “Yeah? Why?”

“Because,” Hotch trailed on, his eyes running between your eyes and lips. “I wouldn’t be with you right now.”

You smiled, a smile so bright that it almost took his breath away. While you felt as if the day was ruined in the beginning because of work, it was only a side affect of being able to be in his moment. To be able to be with Aaron Hotchner in this moment and finally end this childish game that caused your feelings for the man to explode like a firework.

[brokehorrorfan]

Blu-ray Review: The House by the Cemetery

The House by the Cemetery is the final installment in Italian director Lucio Fulci's unofficial “Gates of Hell” trilogy, following City of the Living Dead and The House by the Cemetery. Released between 1980 and 1981, the three plots are unrelated, but they explore similar themes and share a leading lady in Catriona MacColl, who takes on a different part in each film. It’s generally agreed upon that they rank alongside Zombie as Fucli's strongest efforts.

The House by the Cemetery's script - penned by Fulci and his The Beyond co-writers Dardano Sacchetti and Giorgio Mariuzzo, based on story by Elisa Briganti (Zombie) - follows Norman Boyle (Paolo Malco, The New York Ripper) and his wife, Lucy (MacColl), and young son, Bob (Giovanni Frezza, Manhattan Baby), from New York City to the Boston suburb of New Whitby. They move in to the infamous Freudstein House to continue the research of Norman's former colleague, who murdered his mistress before committing suicide.

The strange instances begin almost immediately as the Boyle clan moves in to the titular abode next to a graveyard. Bob shares a strange bond with a little girl (Silvia Collatina) who may be a ghost; the babysitter (Ania Pieroni, Tenebrae) eerily resembles a local mannequin; a hidden tomb is discovered in the house; and then there's the zombie-like creature living in the basement that must kill to survive. Fulci cited H.P. Lovecraft as an influence on the film while Sacchetti drew inspiration from Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, but it shares more in common with The Shining, filtered through the distinct lens of 1980s Italian horror.

The House by the Cemetery features a relatively straightforward plot by Fulci standards. While his signature dreamlike narrative choices do seep in, the haunted house angle makes the occasional incoherence more palatable. The graphic bloodshed for which Fulci was known is present - they didn't call him the Godfather of Gore for nothing - but even Maurizio Trani (Troll 2, Zombie) and Giannetto De Rossi's (High Tension, Zombie) effects are comparatively subdued. The overall restraint aids both the Gothic atmosphere and the pacing, which may have otherwise been thrown off.

The House by the Cemetery has received a limited edition Blu-ray release from Blue Underground. The 1981 picture is newly restored in 4K from the uncensored original camera negative, allowing Sergio Salvati's (The Beyond, City of the Living Dead) cinematography - and his gratuitous zooms - to really pop with more detail and more saturated colors. It features both English and Italian audio options. It must be noted that the English track features one of the worst dubs of all time in Bob. The boy seems to be voiced by an adult female barely bothering to alter her voice, lending itself to some unintentional humor - but the restoration is so good that it’s tolerable.

The three-disc set includes the new transfer on Blu-ray, a second Blu-ray loaded with extras, and a bonus CD featuring the film's soundtrack. Fabio Frizzi, who composed the scores for Fulci's prior two Gates of Hell movies (among others), was unable to return due to time restrains. Walter Rizzati (1990: The Bronx Warriors) was tasked with completing the trilogy, with select tracks composed by Alexander Blonksteiner (Cannibal Apocalypse). A worthy successor, Rizzati’s score is in line with Frizzi’s work along with echos of the moody synthesizer of John Carpenter and the prog-rock of Goblin. The set also includes reversible artwork, a lenticular slipcover, and a booklet featuring an informative essay by Michael Gingold.

The first disc has a new audio commentary with Troy Howarth, author of Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films. Much like his The New York Ripper track, the Fulci expert provides an insightful and interesting listen. The disc is rounded out by a one-minute, silent deleted scene (which was discovered in the original negative but is not found in any version of the film), international and U.S. theatrical trailers, a TV spot, and two galleries of poster and stills.

The second disc includes a few new featurettes in addition to all of the interviews from Blue Underground's 2011 Blu-ray release of the film for a total of nearly 2 and a half hours of bonus content. In a new interview, Mariuzzo details how he went from assistant director to writer. He also matter-of-factly refers to Fulci as “very unpleasant” aesthetically but says he is organized and cultured. Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci author Stephen Thrower waxes poetic about the film in a new piece. A previously unreleased 2014 Q&A with MacColl from the UK’s Spaghetti Cinema Festival is a delightful chat centered on the trilogy; she cites The Beyond as her favorite of the three.

The existing extras are also great. MacColl and Malco discuss Fulci's abrasive approach with actors - which nearly led Malco to quit - but both grew to love him. Frezza and Collatina both mention that Fulci made them cry on set, but they look back on it with a smile. Frezza emphatically apologizes for the bad dubbing of his voice, which he assures is not him. Actress Dagmar Lassander talks about this film as well as The Black Cat, Hatchet for the Honeymoon, and her first convention. Actor Carlo De Mejo discusses following in the footsteps of his mother, Suspiria’s Alida Valli, and working with Fulci and Bruno Mattei. Briganti explains how the plot came from her interest in child psychology, while Sacchetti hits on the importance of ambiguity. Salvati, Trani, De Rossi, and creature actor Giovanni De Nava break down several memorable effects.

The House by the Cemetery is available now on Blu-ray via Blue Underground.

[amortm]

      *  𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒  𝐔𝐏  ,  pretty  kitties  !   i'm  terribly  sorry  abt  my  absence  on  the  dash  alongside  you  angels  ,  &  trust  that  i’m  fully  embarrassed  of  my  slow  ass  ,  but  i  finally  typed  this  baby  out  ,  &  i  can’t  wait  for  y’all  to  meet  my  love  ,  𝒋𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔  !

*  ╰   it’s  an  absolute  dishonour  to  meet  you ,   julianna  /  jules  .  at   twenty - one  ,  you’ve  disgraced  the   peralta   family  name  &  failed  to  carry  on  their  legacy  as  an  elite  .  as  a  result  ,  they’ve  requested  that  we  at  the  academy  do  our  best  to  rid  you  of  your  venality  ,  & seeing  as  though  they’re  worth  86m  ,  we  dutifully  obliged  .  while  your   pleonastic  &  inexorable  attributes  have  always  promised  failure  ,  it’s  your  spar  with   pride  &  ghosting  your  breakout  acting  role  after  you  found  out  your  daddy  secured  it  for  you   that  got  you  committed  .  before  we  take  possession  of  you  ,  it’s  imperative  that  we  know  that  you  are  a   cisfem  who  prefers   she  &  her  pronouns  ,  &  you  resemble   diana  silvers  .  your  birthday  is  on   april  26th  ,  making  you  a  recalcitrant  taurus  ,  &  you  were  transported  to  us  all  the  way  from   vail  ,  co  .  at  the  present  time  ,  you  work  off  campus  at   seaside  florist  .  go  ahead  &  purchase  that  extra  large  suitcase  ,  disgrace  .  you’re  going  to  need  it . 

your  name  /  age  /  pronouns  /  timezone  /  etc  .

hiya  loves  !   i  go  by  blue  &  she  /  her  pronouns  ,   i’m  9teen  ,   &  i’m  a  pst  baby  !   i’m  one  of  the  six  lovely  admins  @  #unholy  ,   &  they’re  all  superstars  ,   so  imagine  my  daily  awe  !   anyway  ,   i’m  beyond  excited  to  finally  get  the  ball  rolling  ,   &  share  the  dash  with  you  babes  !

 muse  inspo  .

noora  sætre  ,   the  goldfinch  ,   ella  of  frell  ,   neil  perry  ,   charlie  dalton  ,   claire  saffitz  ,   monica  geller  ,   carla  lalli  music  ,   mia  thermopolis  ,   adam  parrish  ,   blue  sargent  ,   anna  ou  !

 character  details  :

    💐 :   sweetly  judgmental  ,  adoringly  vindictive   /   vindictively  adoring  ,   witty  ‘n  gritty  ,   bitingly  tender  ,   expressively  stubborn  ,   softly  feral  !

    😈 :   hershey’s  chocolate  ,   brooklyn  pizza  ,   baguettes  ,   collector  edition  copies  of  wuthering  heights  ,   selfies  ,   her  mom  ,   richard  siken  anthologies  ,   twilight  (  #teamedward  )  ,   crowded  movie  theaters  ,   english  gardens  ,   the  air  in  new  york  ,   the  air  in  vail  ,   snowboarding  ,   her  hair  ,   hot  chocolate  (  no  whipped  cream  ,   half  a  bag  of  mini  marshmallows  dumped  atop  )  ,   andrew  garfield  ,   her  discover  weekly  playlist  ,   german  shepherds  ,   harry  potter  ,   lord  of  the  rings  ,   comedies  ,   horror  movies ,   nude  lipstick  ,   chocolate  chip  toffee  cookies  with  sea  salt  drizzled  on  top  ,   mamma  mia  franchise  ,   dissertations  ,   driving  ,   any  typa  jacket  /  coat  ,   being  the  big  spoon  ,   her  father  ,   coca  cola  ,   lilies  ,   disney  t - shirts  ,   her  father’s  films  ,   take  out  ,   farms  ,   italy  (  every  single  crevice  of  it  )  ,   the  plaza  hotel  ,   mint  chip  ice  cream  ,   hats  ,   trains ,   monthly  horoscopes  ,  ancient  history  ,   greenwich  village  ,   maggie  rogers  ,   mating  ritual  ,   vampire  weekend  ,   mitski  ,   the  wombats  ,   magic  bronson  ,   jade  bird  ,   hockey  ,   pretending  to  be  a  fairy / witch  /  mermaid  as  a  child  ,   naruto  ,   avatar  the  last  airbender  ,   stepping  over  state  /  country  lines  ,   hot  water  with  honey  ,   amazon  prime  !

    👿 :   the  marvel  franchise  except  for  the  captain  america  &  thor  trilogies  ,   coffee  &  tea  ,   shorts  ,   sweet  potatoes  ,   layovers  of  any  length  ,   socks  ,   soy  milk  ,   her  arms  ,   chihuahuas  ,   a  song  of  fire  &  ice  novels  ,   super  fudgy  /  rich  cake  &  brownies  ,   cooking  for  herself  ,   being  told  what  to  do  ,   being  wrong  &  having  everyone  know  it  ,   people  who  are  rude  to  employees  ,   bad  tipping  ,   margaret  atwood  ,   her  first  grade  teacher  ,   plastic  coke  bottles  ,   too  much  pepper  in  a  dish  !

 upbringing  &  family  life  ,  life  before  the  academy  ,  etc  .

     julianna  rachel  peralta  was  born  to  a  beauty  -  charmed  family  of  three  ,   with  a  new  yorker  mother  &  italian  father  birthing  the  healthiest  &  happiest  girl  parents  can  dream  for  .    her  mother  ,  susanna  ‘ susie ’  peters  ,   was  coined  the  model  that  pioneered  90′s  fashion  ,  a  la  kate  moss  ,   &  met  julianna’s  father  ,   elio  peralta   (  think  the  francis  ford  coppola  of  this  verse  )  ,   whilst  she  was  briefly  on  set  for  jack  to  see  friend  fran  drescher  .    their  love  stemmed  from  there  ,   after  she  made  a  mocking  comment  &  he  overhead  &  mocked  her  in  return  for  it  ,   &  the  whirlwind  romance  that  captivated  their  world  for  the  next  few  years  led  to  miss  jules  being  born  .    neither  of  her  parents  desired  marriage  from  each  other  ,   rather  believing  that  their  love  knew  no  bounds  ,   even  those  of  matrimony  ,   but  never  did  it  dim  the  bond  held  between  the  small  family  of  three  .    once  jules  was  in  their  arms  ,   they  relocated  from  new  york  to  colorado  ,   into  the  quaint  town  of  vail  ,   surrounded  by  pristine  mountains  &  crystalline  air  ,   where  susie  &  elio  found  a  pocket  of  indisputable  peace  after  a  small  winter  trip  in  their  first  year  of  romance  .

        it  was  there  that  jules  grew  up  ,   &  there  that  the  love  of  her  parents  faltered  .    her  mother  missed  the  world  of  fashion  ,   the  rhythms  &  rhymes  of  the  space  she  knew  as  well  as  in  maintaining  the  fame  that  spotlighted  her  so  ,   while  elio’s  passions  for  turning  out  film  after  film  dwindled  .    &  when  the  offer  from  vogue  came  in  ,   waxing  poetic  about  a  fresh  position  as  a  fashion  editor  ,   both  she  &  elio  knew  that  their  paths  would  veer  .    their  love  was  no  less  ,   but  integral  factors  of  their  relationship  were  now  fractured  ,   &  they  each  desired  after  different  things  .    this  was  all  said  to  julianna  ,   in  soft  tones  &  with  assuring  words  .    yet  ,   never  was  it  promised  that  everything  would  be  the  same  as  it  was  ,   for  the  truth  was  in  something  unsaid  .    susie  moved  to  new  york  ,   while  elio  &  jules  stayed  in  that  mansion  in  the  mountains  ,   &  all  was  as  fair  &  well  as  it  could  be  ,   with  julianna  staying  with  her  mom  during  the  fall  season  &  discovering  every  little  piece  of  italy  in  the  summers  .    christmases  &  hanukkahs  were  always  shared  in  vail  ,   &  susie  tagged  along  european  dives  when  her  schedule  allowed  for  it  .    it  was  as  if  their  relationship  &  subsequent  uncoupling  were  trivial  details  no  one  could  bother  to  account  for  ,  until  ,   in  the  worst  spot  she’s  ever  seen  her  mother  ,   it  came  out  that  elio  peralta  found  a  new  woman  to  share  a  life  with  ,   &  that  their  new  life  together  would  be  housed  in  the  same  home  that  susie  &  elio  specially  chose  &  ,   in  emotional  terms  ,  truly  built  themselves  &  carved  their  family  in  its  foundations  .    it  was  a  betrayal  of  the  deepest  caliber  ,   &  from  there  the  small  peace  that  still  was  at  the  core  of  their  little  family  was  forever  severed  ,   &  it  became  obvious  to  jules  that  those  few  years  were  lucky  .

     she  was  thirteen  when  famed  actress  lily  taylor  (  aka  jennifer  connely  lmao  )  moved  into  her  family  home  ,   bringing  her  adopted  eleven - year - old  twins  with  her  .    in  a  sense  of  loyalty  to  her  mother  &  her  own  hurt  over  the  despair  that  her  father  caused  their  original  trio  ,   jules  was  heartily  &  positively  prepared  to  hate  the  new  additions  to  her  family  with  a  vindictive  fidelity  .    her  plan  was  promptly  overturned  ,   however  ,   when  she  spent  day  upon  day  with  her  new  fam  &  steadily  allowed  them  into  her  heart  .    this  ,   of  course  ,   was  paired  with  doubtless  guilt  ,   spurred  on  by  her  own  mind  whenever  she  flew  to  nyc  to  see  her  mother  ,   but  soon  enough  this  was  caught  by  each  of  her  parents  ,   &  susie  was  insistent  in  her  assurance  that  whatever  frigidness  she  still  held  for  elio  &  his  new  beau   (  which  julianna  didn’t  bother  to  correct  with  wife  )   ,   it  in  no  way  extends  nor  should  be  mimicked  by  her  .    elio  ,   in  turn  ,   was  quick  to  promise  to  jules  that  his  love  for  her  mother  flamed  in  his  heart  to  this  day  ,   but  each  of  them  are  happier  living  their  lives  in  the  lifestyles  they’ve  chosen  ,   with  the  people  they’ve  chosen  .    

      there  really  wasn’t  anything  to  do  but  swallow  their  words  ,   &  live  by  the  sentiments  they  expressed  .   jules  was  both  a  mama’s  &  daddy’s  girl  in  one  ,   so  to  take  their  words  as  fact  was  an  ignorance  she  allowed  herself  ,   even  when  the  hurt  look  on  her  mother’s  faced  inevitably  shone  through  in  hidden  moments  .

     but  when  jules  turned  seventeen  ,   susie  fell  in  love  with  a  musician  /  designer  named  tommy  lever  she  met  while  interviewing  his  collection  for  vogue  ,  &  the  two  fell  deep  ,  far  enough  to  sway  susie  into  moving  to  brazil  during  the  spring  season  ,  away  from  her  beloved  manhattan  loft  ,  to  be  with  him  in  his  home  (  the  link  is  crucial  to  his  characterization  lmao  ,  as  lenny  kravitz  is  essentially  tommy  lever  )  .   when  she  can  ,  jules  visits  as  often  as  she’s  allowed  (  always  )  &  has  gained  a  room  herself  .

      after  that  ,   however  ,   the  cycle  between  her  various  homes  continued  ,   well  into  her  slipping  teendom  ,   &  when  the  prospect  of  college  crunched  down  on  her  ,   the choice  seemed  inevitable  .   nyu  gained  a  classics  &  theater  major  for  its  class  of  2019  (  she  skipped  the  third  grade  ,  a  fact  she  didn’t  stop  bragging  about  at  that  age  )  ,   but  in  her  senior  year  of  university  ,   the  walls  came  crashing  down  .

 what  sin  are  they  categorized  under  ?  why ?

jules  belongs  to  the  sin  of  #pride  through  &  through  .   after  all  ,   if  there  was  one  damning  trait  to  send  her  straight  into  the  pits  of  burning  infernos  ,  her  prideful  sense  of  self  would  be  it  .   that’s  not  to  say  she’s  arrogant  (  nor  am  i  saying  she  isn’t  )  ,  but  it’s  more  that  she  can’t  take  being  undermined  or  allow  the  supposed  undermining  to  go  unpunished  .   she  has  a  great  deal  of  #pride  in  her  own  self  worth  &  capabilities  ,  though  she’s  usually  loathe  to  make  it  known  in  plain  terms  ,  &  if  she  feels  attacked  in  that  manner  ,  she’ll  completely  close  up  .   this  often  ,  as  you’ll  surely  be  able  to  tell  ,   beckons  problematic  shit  .

 what  got  them  sent  to  the  academy  ?

      during  jules’  senior  year  at  nyu  ,  she  was  contacted  by  her  agent  (  shared  with  her  father  )  &  offered  an  audition  for  a  leading  role  in  a  major  hollywood  studio  film  .   throughout  the  years  ,  she  dabbled  in  theater  &  attracted  a  starring  role  or  two  along  the  way  ,  especially  in  school  productions  ,   but  the  plan  for  success  was  always  envisioned  after  college  .   when  she  got  the  call  ,  however  ,  she  handled  it  with  a  happy - go - lucky  fuck  it  sort  of  approach  ,  &  a  week  later  ,  when  she  received  the  good - bearing  call  ,  there  was  no  backing  out  ,  or  so  she  thought  .   tentatively  dropping  out  of  the  semester  in  which  she  would  graduate  ,  jules  modeled  the  next  few  months  of  her  life  around  the  film  ,  happily  doing  so  .   

      yet  ,  the  first  week  into  rehearsals  brought  down  a  cloud  so  dark  she  thought  she’d  choke  under  it  .   she  overheard  a  few  producers  on  their  lunch  break  ,  talking  about  this - & - that - esque  bullshit  ,  but  just  as  she  was  passing  ,  one  of  them  made  a  comment  about  the  peralta  girl  ,  &  how  hollywood  legacies  are  the  roaches  of  the  industry  .   how  directors  from  the  middle  ages  should  just  stick  to  ruining  things  behind  the  camera  ,  not  forcing  a  disaster  in  front  of  it  .   

      that  day  ,  jules  walked  out  of  set  &  never  took  a  step  back  in  .   effectively  ruining  her  future  career  in  the  process  ,  she  ghosted  all  contact  from  the  production  &  even  went  as  far  to  jet  off  to  brazil  to  regenerate  with  her  mom  as  an  escape  .   she  couldn’t  even  pick  up  where  she  left  off  during  the  semester  ,  &  simply  had  to  sit  back  &  witness  her  classmates  of  four  years  graduate  without  her  .   her  parents  were  furious  ,  but  the  only  thing  she  gave  in  return  was  a  steely  silence  ,  refusing  even  turn  a  glare  to  her  father  .   now  ,  she’s  been  shoved  into  the  hands  of  the  academy  ,  biding  the  days  until  she  could  return  to  nyu  in  the  fall  .  

what  do  you  think  they’ll  struggle  with  the  most  at  the  academy ?

tbh  ,  the  biggest  issue  for  jules  is  the  resentment  curling  at  her  core  .   at  her  father  ,  the  film  ,  the  academy  ,  herself  .   right  now  she’s  just  in  a  foul  mood  &  sick  at  being  forced  into  glitterati  rehab  ,  but  her  #pride  won’t  allow  her  to  fail  ,  even  if  she  wishes  to  do  it  just  to  spite  everyone  .   she  is  a  people  person  ,  however  ,  &  will almost  definitely  warm  up  ,  even  if  it’s  just  for  appearances  sake  .

extra  details  :  links  you’d  like  to  incorporate  ,  wanted  connections  ,  literally anything  else  you  want  to  include  ,  etc  .

wanted  connections  will  be  coming  soon  !   for  now  ,  please  enjoy  this  authentic  video  of  jules  chillin  in  her  fav  corner  of  the  world  ,  aka  italia  ,  taken  by  her  bff  eli  😔✌️

[dreamsofthescreen]

The Poignancy of Life Is Beautiful - Review

The phrase ‘tearjerker’ really is an understatement when remembering the absolute power that this piece of cinema holds.

Roberto Begnini & Nicoletta Braschi in 'Life Is Beautiful' (1997)

Roberto Benigni’s ‘La Vita e Bella’ (Life Is Beautiful) follows the stark contrast of life’s purest celebrations and greatest despairs over the course of seven years. Haunting and touching, it stars Benigni as ‘Guido’, an Italian waiter in the late 1930s. However ordinary his life may seem, it is the joy and humour that is paramount. The second half of the film follows Guido’s descent, as it is now the second world war, and as a Jew, Guido and his family are sent to a concentration camp. Yet Guido’s optimism for life never seems to end, as he turns the war into a game for him and his son. As romance and tragedy intertwine, this slice of history is somehow prevalent today, allowing us to reflect on the highest qualities and the worst misery in life.

‘La Vita è Bella’ really does live up to its title in the first half of the film, as director, co-writer, and star Begnini paints a colourful picture of a free and impassioned life. Yet, in the second half, the film’s name becomes an eerie echo of what used to be, it being a haunting hope from before, as well as deeply disturbing upon knowing the fate of the story. As beauty, Dora, literally falls into the arms of Guido from a barn, a usually manic Begnini exclaims, ‘buongiorno principessa!’. As the two run into each other over and over, Guido’s infatuation turns into unconditional love.  Right in the middle of the Second World War, Guido and Dora have a son and have started a beautiful life. Forever changed is Guido’s dazzling existence when he is sent away to a concentration camp, with his family following.

To protect his son from the true horrors of the Holocaust, he uses his expert humour and imagination to craft their experience into a game, with first prize being a tank.  

The separation between the joyous and depressing sides of this film are characterised in many ways. Guido’s fairytale life is filled with beauty, as we see his home decorated with curious antique furnishings. He too works at fanciful parties in a hotel, and on Sunday nights he attends ravishing shows at the theatre. He is free to make his life as fun as it can be. Yet, the twist of fate comes when he and his family are involved in the Holocaust; whisked away to a concentration camp. Dora’s rich, red dresses turn into dull striped pyjamas, and Guido’s characterful, antique-filled home turns into a cold wooden bunk bed.  

Roberto Begnini & Giorgio Cantarini in 'Life Is Beautiful' (1997)

As stark a contrast between love and hate there is throughout the film, Guido and Dora’s beautifully romantic relationship can be seen as light amongst the chaos. That love prevails, romance is timeless, and it is for certain that “life is beautiful”. When winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Begnini closed his speech by quoting Dante, stating that, in making the film, he was impacted by “the love that moves the sun and all the stars”. The first half of the film is a pure celebration of the greatest aspects of humanity and a beautiful life, with the second half showcasing the very worst aspects of humanity.

To choose such a grim area of history allows Begnini to strongly juxtapose both light and darkness, as well as delivering a strong political message and inspiring lesson on the human condition. In an interview with The Guardian, Begnini spoke on the movie, defending its controversial take, stating:

“to laugh and to cry comes from the same point of the soul, no? I'm a storyteller: the crux of the matter is to reach beauty, poetry, it doesn't matter if that is comedy or tragedy. They're the same if you reach the beauty."

Many can take this point in reference to the movie as a controversial statement, given the history it focuses on. As Guido acts all through the holocaust to protect his son, this can either be seen as an act of bravery or foolishly bad parenting, dividing opinions on the movie. For example, one may detest the film as Guido lies to his son about the reality of what they are facing, whereas one may adore Guido’s high spirits and ways in which he keeps his son safe. Film critic Tom Dawson spoke on the film, stating that “the film is presumably intended as a tribute to the powers of imagination, innocence, and love in the most harrowing circumstances.” The point of the human condition that Begnini so cleverly focuses on is that throughout life’s heaviest sorrows, nevertheless, we are led to see which always wins - love.

Nicoletta Braschi in 'Life Is Beautiful' (1997)

Roberto Begnini’s life philosophy is one of a carefree nature and the beloved film he has created is personable to his own life. Writing the screenplay with Vincenzo Cerami, the film’s inspiration comes from the book 'In The End, I Beat Hitler', written by Rubino Romeo Salmoni, heavily focusing on black comedy. Begnini’s father explained his time working at a Nazi Labour camp in a humorous manner to his children, lightening the weight of the reality. Furthermore, Begnini’s co-star Nicoletta Braschi, who plays ‘Dora’, really is his wife in reality. These aspects of Begnini’s life, philosophies and inspirations all rolled into one make the cinematic experience all the more meaningful.

Roberto Begnini’s exquisite must-watch ‘life is beautiful’ encompasses the highest and lowest points imaginable. So cleverly contrasting love and hate, it is a purely poignant and striking lesson on the human condition. Begnini's film continues to remind us of the great beauty and suffering that comes with being alive. The phrase ‘tearjerker’ really is an understatement when remembering the absolute power that this piece of cinema holds.

Stars Out of Five: 4.5/5

[jmsa1287]

A Year in Review: The Best 25 TV Shows of 2017

yeah yeah this is late. deal with it!

With Peak TV rising and rising, not yet bursting an inevitable bubble, the quality of shows over the last few years has been incredibly impressive. It seems like almost every network - from the Big Four to smaller cable networks (and even places outside what we consider television) - has at least one show that has a rabid fan base. But with so many top-notch shows from which to choose, the viewer starts to have higher standards. Dropping the ball -- even a little -- can break a season of TV these days. "Mr. Robot" Season 3 was demur, the new season of "Catastrophe" was solid but spun its wheels a bit and the final season of "Difficult People" was the gone-too-soon show's worst albeit delightful. Unlike the last few years, there were less series (both new and returning) that I loved and more that I thought were very good. Below are the best 10 TV shows of the year, all of which I did love. We may be reaching a breaking point of quality vs. quantity but 2017 did offer us one true masterpiece, which comes in at number one on this list.

25. The Good Place Season 1-B / Season 2-A  (NBC)

24. Fargo Season 3 (FX)

23. The Girlfriend Experience Season 2 (Starz)

22. Legion Season 1 (FX)

21. Search Party Season 2 (TBS)

20. Baskets Season 2 (FX)

19. Stranger Things Season 2 (Netflix)

18. Rick and Morty Season 3 (Cartoon Network/Adult Swim)

17. Master of None Season 2 (Netflix)

16. Girls Season 6 (HBO)

15. Mr. Robot Season 3 (USA)

14. American Vandal Season 1 (Netflix)

13. American Horror Story: Cult Season 7 (FX)

12. The Deuce Season 1 (HBO)

11. Mindhunter Season 1 (Netflix)

10. Insecure Season 2 (HBO)

Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore's "Insecure" continues to be one of the most modern and funniest shows on TV. Deeply realized and stylish, "Insecure" is a 30-minute delight that showcases the black experience of young people living in L.A. Sex, relationships, dating and class are explored in the comedy and the show's MVP Yvonne Orji's Molly remains one of the best characters on TV.

09. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 1 (Amazon)

"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise cynical and dark TV landscape. Bright, bubbly and simply delightful, the new comedy is only boosted by its stellar cast, namely the titular star, the fabulous Rachel Brosnahan and costar Alex Borstein. From its styling (those coats!) to its set pieces (1950s New York City!), "Mrs. Masiel" is a special show with a strong feminist viewpoint during at time when independent women were sidelined.

08. Better Things Season 2 (FX)

Pamela Adlon's "Better Things" improved with its second season, as the co-creator, star and write directed all 10 episodes. "Better Things" may be a moving half-hour comedy about family but it's also one of the most cinematic with Adlon pulling out some truly stunning shots unlike any other TV show (or movie) this year. Meditative and resilient, "Better Things" proves itself again to be a daring and insightful show.

07. Neo Yokio Season 1 (Netflix)

"Neo Yokio" is not for everyone. The anime created by Vampire Weekend front man Ezra Koenig is niche as niche can get: "Mourning the death of a recent relationship, an elegant and fashionable demon hunter struggles to stay afloat in the elite society of Neo Yokio," reads the show's synopsis. But "Neo Yokio," with its all-star cast (Jaden Smith, Jude Law, Susan Sarandon), is a hilarious series that skewers New York City's millennial one percenters with precision. It's a subversive and innovative show that's a whole lot of fun.

06. Nathan For You Season 4 (Comedy Central)

In its fourth season, "Nathan For You" continues to be an incredible mind-boggling show that pushes the boundaries of storytelling and comedy. Creator and star Nathan Fielder tests viewers limits of humor, putting himself in truly uncomfortable situations that are often flat out mean towards unsuspecting people. From exposing the problems with Uber to essentially sneaking a bomb into a sports stadium, the fourth season of "Nathan For You" was capped off with modern TV masterpiece, "Finding Frances."

05. Feud: Bette and Joan Season 1 (FX)

The first season of Ryan Murphy's "Feud" came months before the #MeToo movement. But it examined the way in which (older) women were treated in Hollywood, following frenimes Bette Davis and Joan Crawford while filming "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" in 1962. But "Feud" goes beyond the making of that movie, delving deep into the renowned actresses lives and what made them who they are and, more importantly, why they had such a tumultuous relationship with each other. With an all-star cast (Jessica Lange, Susan Sarandon, Alfred Molina, Stanley Tucci, Judy Davis, Jackie Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Catherine Zeta-Jones and more), "Feud: Bette and Joan" was as entertaining as it was enlightening (and visually stunning).

04. The Young Pope Season 1 (HBO)

Daring and exceptional, "The Young Pope" was Paolo Sorrentino's singular vision impressively executed. Though bogged down by memes and Internet jokes, "The Young Pope" was a wild ride that featured Judd Law's best performance to date as the titular young (and hot!) pope, American Lenny Belardo. The miniseries could have been read as an early critique of the Trump administration (though it was made before he was elected into office), "The Young Pope" was a sumptuous and dazzling show full of breathtaking Italian vistas, nuns playing basketball and CGI kangaroos. It may have not always worked but "The Young Pope" was auteur TV at its finest; a thoroughly enjoyable watching experience without compromise.

03. The Leftovers Season 3 (HBO)

In its final season, "The Leftovers" again proved to be one of the best shows of the decade. A brilliant and deeply moving drama with some of the best performances of the year (Carrie Coon, Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston, Ann Dowd), the show bowed with grace. For all its oddities (sex boats, penis scanners, oh my!), "The Leftovers" had a tone like no other show, balancing existentialist questions with bizarre humor. Showrunner Damon Lindelof, who got major flack for the "Lost" series finale, closed "The Leftovers" story with a fascinating ending, that will forever let the mystery be.

02. Big Little Lies Season 1 (HBO)

Outside of "Game of Thrones," "Big Little Lies" may have been the biggest - and most talked about -- show of the year. And rightfully so. The drama treated its stellar cast as multi-dimensional and complicated women with fully realized wants and desires. Reese Witherspoon gave the best performance of her career - a 40-year-old Tracey Flick as Madeline Martha Mackenzie. Same for Nichole Kidman, whose slow-burning performance as battered wife Celeste Wright was marvelous and captivating to watch. With supporting roles from Shailene Woodley, Alexander, Zoe Kravitz and Laura Dern, "Big Little Lies" was a stunning drama that put the murder mystery on the back burner. We're lucky we're getting a second season.

01. Twin Peaks: The Return Season 1 (Showtime)

David Lynch and Mark Frost pulled off the impossible by returning to the world of "Twin Peaks." Nearly three decades since its unceremonious cancelation, "Twin Peaks: The Return" was not a nostalgic reboot cash-grab full of cherry pie and coffee. It was a profoundly moving show with audacious storytelling and bold filmmaking. It explored aging unlike anything TV or in film has done before, it examined the plight of trying to change the past, and it was a critique on the way in which we watch TV. Lynch and Frost subverted every preconceived notion of what a "Twin Peaks" revival would mean: Fans did not get the wholesome good guy F.B.I. agent Dale Cooper for the majority of the series. Instead Kyle MacLachlan gave four incredible performances as the mindless Dougie Jones, Cooper's evil doppelganger Mr. C, the chilling Richard and, yes, as Agent Cooper. Just like the original two season of "Twin Peaks," "The Return" will undoubtedly change TV. With concerts at the Roadhouse, experimental montages of the atomic bombs, and long takes of a janitor sweeping, somehow 18 hours of "Twin Peaks: The Return" was still not enough.

[aion-rsa]

The Third Day’s Dennis Kelly: ‘If people are telling you they’re good, you’ve got to be careful’

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The fascinations of Dennis Kelly are worth paying attention to. A decade ago, the playwright and screenwriter was kept up at night by the looming shadow of overpopulation and global resource scarcity. He channelled that concern into Channel 4’s Utopia, a global pandemic conspiracy thriller that in 2020, could hardly be more timely (serendipitously, Amazon releases the long-gestated US remake this month). 

Before that, Kelly’s plays were preoccupied with the suspicion of outsiders fostered by the so-called War on Terror, from which you might draw a straight line to Brexit and Trump. You could call his work a barometer for crisis, pointing audiences towards the thing we need to worry about next. 

Kelly’s latest project, he tells Den of Geek, was driven by a need to explore the reality-distorting effects of grief, and concern about growing isolationism. The Third Day starts as the story of Sam (Jude Law), a man sucked into the mysterious ways of a strange British island. It’s neither a horror nor an allegory, says Kelly, but it is packed with unsettling images and nightmarish twists. 

The Third Day was created in collaboration with Felix Barrett of the Punchdrunk theatre company. It starts with three-episode TV story Summer directed by Utopia’s Marc Munden, then becomes live immersive theatre event Autumn, both of which star Jude Law. It will conclude with Winter, a three-episode continuation starring Naomie Harris, due to air in October. The show really catches fire in episode two, promises Kelly. “That’s when it starts to go crazy. Episode three is just mental.” 

Kelly tells Den of Geek about the strange real-life island location of Osea, the commonality of pain, his impatience with the rules of genre, and why you should be suspicious of anyone who tries to tell you that they’re a good person.

You’ve said before that you write about things that are bothering you and that you don’t necessarily have an answer for. When you started writing The Third Day, what was bothering you?

So much, I’m so angry! 

Aren’t we all?!

It’s an angry world we live in! Often these things are a combination of personal and big stuff. In terms of the big stuff, I was bothered by isolationism. We started this probably about eight or nine years ago and at that time, I was very worried about isolationism, and it seems to have got worse since then. This is worldwide, not specifically to do with the UK, although obviously I’m writing from within that plane. 

The other thing on my mind was grief. I’d wanted to write about grief for a long time but to properly deal with it and the idea of how grief can do really strange things to your mind. We all experience it at some time in our lives. When I lost my dad – this is a long time ago now – but I remember that week thinking ‘I could get used to this. This is a strange place. It’s painful and it’s difficult, but there’s something warm about it and it answers all questions’. I think some people don’t ever leave grief. I wanted to write about that.

That’s an idea Emily Watson’s character repeats in The Third Day’s first episode, that pain can have warmth?

That’s where that came from, that line is something like ‘Most people are scared of pain, they don’t know how warm it can be.’ It’s true. 

It reminds me of your stage adaptation of Pinocchio having the idea that pain is the one element shared by all human beings, and only by experiencing that can Pinocchio become a real boy.

That’s right. 

Is that from the original story?

No, that was mine. In the Disney version, when you become true and good, you become a real boy and I just thought that is awful, what an awful message to be sending to kids. When you’re good and when you do what we tell you, then you can be real?! It’s a terrible message for kids and I wanted it to be about something more than that. Pain is… every one of us experiences it, it runs through all of our lives, but we don’t have to be terrified of it.

How did the island of Osea come to you as a location for The Third Day? 

That was Felix [Barrett, Punchdrunk artistic director and The Third Day co-creator]. Initially we thought we would set it in a town but we knew we wanted our character trapped and we realised that a town wasn’t going to work because it’s hard to get trapped in a town in the UK. It’s not like America where you might have one road in and one road out, and if you go out into the wilds, you’re going to die.  You can walk, if you really need to, between most places in the UK, even remote places in Scotland. So we felt like we needed something a lot more remote and then Felix found Osea. Because it’s only available by causeway, you can only get there twice a day. Once the tide comes in, you’re stuck, you’re staying there, you’re not getting back until the next day, 10 hours later. It just was perfect. 

What’s the atmosphere like on the island?

I really like it. It’s a strange thing, some people loved being on Osea. Paul Kaye, who’s in the second block of episodes, absolutely loved it, he couldn’t get enough of it. Naomie Harris, who’s also in the second block, just said she really hated being on the island! She found it really, really difficult. Personally, I really like the feeling of separation. There are no shops. Once you’re there, you’re there. The first time, I remember walking around with Felix and finding all these locations, these things that ended up in the show, just thinking, this is special, this place, but weird. 

Islands are special places, aren’t they? I grew up on the Isle of Wight and there’s a real sense of identity and a connection to tradition I’ve never quite found the equal of on the mainland.

All over the country there are all these weird places. That was something Felix was interested in, that there are all these slightly strange traditions that are still there. I was brought up a Catholic and Catholicism is incredibly Pagan. We eat pieces of someone’s body and it turns into their body while it’s in you. And you’ve got one God, but that God is in three parts. It’s so Pagan. In really Catholic countries – my ex-wife is Italian, so I used to spend a lot of time there – I remember going into churches in Naples and there’s so many bits of dead people in there, preserved, a bit of a dead saint’s toe or a dead saint’s finger or a dead saint’s heart. For me, that’s always there. The image that is over every Catholic is the Sacred Heart, which we used to have in our home, which is Jesus with his ribs torn open, it’s quite a brutal image. 

Have mythology and religion always been an interest of yours?

I have really conflicting views towards religion. I’m not a believer but sometimes I feel like I am because I want to be. I sometimes think I can believe in things that I know aren’t real, but it doesn’t matter as long as it makes me happy. Religion can do amazing things and it also can be incredibly manipulative and destructive in people’s lives and can allow people who are doing really very bad things to continue doing those bad things. These things are very complicated. Any simplistic statements about them are always doomed to make things worse.

What’s the significance of sobriety to The Third Day? How important is the temperance side of Osea to the story?

That came in because we realised that [former 19th century Osea owner] Frederick Nicholas Charrington went there and tried and create this sober community on the island. Osea had a treatment centre – I think Amy Winehouse went there at some point – which was closed down I think. It has a connection to it. 

When I’ve watched it back, I’m surprised at the amount of drunk characters there are in it. There are two or three. There are some plot twists that turn on so-and-so being drunk, so it does become important. Because I had struggles with alcohol and I’ve been sober now for nearly 19 years – 19 years, Jesus Christ, that’s like an entire person – I don’t know how much of that was conscious or whether that was bleeding in there. 

There’s a lot of talk in The Third Day about goodness. There’s a real insistence about the islanders being good people, about so and so being a good man, although their behaviour doesn’t seem to exemplify that?

I think if people are telling you they’re good, you’ve got to be careful! Watch out for them. People who say ‘I’m a really straight person, me’ are the most twisty-turny little fuckers! [Laughs] You’ve always got to be careful. The islanders talk a good game, but their actions show something quite different.

In Utopia, you presented us with this paradox about goodness, how for humans, love is this positive thing that connects us and inspires heroism, but it’s also what makes us do brutal things to other people to protect the ones we love. The same thing inspires both goodness and evil.

I think that’s so right. You’ve sort of nailed what I was trying to write about really. It’s an obsession of mine. You can look at the worst humans who do the most awful things and they think they’re doing it for the right reasons. Dictators don’t sit there thinking how evil they are, they think ‘This needs to be done for the greater good’, and then they do appalling things to huge amounts of people. 

A good example are paedophiles, weirdly. Watching paedophiles being interviewed, they seem to need to think that a kid is culpable in this, often. They totally aren’t, obviously. It’s crazy that they have to bend all of reality to still believe that they’re still a decent person inside. The same is true of violent men who have to believe that they had to beat their wife up, because ‘she pushed him to it’. We need to bend reality to be good, but also the desire to be good is incredibly powerful and it can lead us to do amazing, amazing things. It’s our brains that fuck it all up, because our brains pervert that desire. 

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Tell me about Jude Law’s character Sam in The Third Day, and the grief he’s experiencing.

Sam’s someone who’s gone through something really, really terrible and probably hasn’t processed it, perhaps because it might not be possible to process something that bad. It’s meant that he’s not at all sure of what’s going on, which makes him vulnerable but also makes him fall victim to the island and what it’s doing. The island is a very strange place. There is a belief that runs through it. They believe that Osea is the soul of the world and if you’re on Osea strange and important things can happen. The vulnerable part of Sam becomes attracted to that. 

Sam’s a strange character. I kind of wrote him for Jude. There are some really interesting places in Jude, a lot of versatility. His performance is extraordinary in this. I find him magnetic but at the same time I’m not entirely sure where I stand with him, which is really interesting, because Jude Law is not like that as a person at all, he’s really easy to get on with! 

Episode one has a combination of fairly banal elements, like garden centres and planning officers, alongside some very weird stuff like ritualistic murder and strange creatures snipping evil out of children. Would you say that The Third Day slips between those two worlds of reality and fantasy? 

I think they co-exist in our culture. The snipping is based on a tradition in a German village where people go around on a certain night of the year and look around to see if your house is clean and if it isn’t, they snip you open and put the dust in your belly. Obviously they don’t really snip you open, but it’s based on a real tradition. I remember explaining Bonfire Night to my Italian ex-wife and she was going ‘You burn him?!’ It’s so dark, that we actually burn a man who was burned all those years ago, we keep burning that guy. So I think we already live like that, we just don’t notice it because it’s ours. Catholic traditions, you don’t really notice them because they’re yours, but if you step back from it…

It was important as well that it didn’t feel as though you were stepping into the past. We didn’t want you to think this could be the 1960s, or this could be the 1860s, we didn’t want it to feel like it could be another world, we wanted it to feel very much like this world.

Do you like your audience to be on shifting sands in terms of whether we’re in reality or inside the perspective of a character who might be suffering from grief that distorts reality? 

I think so. Certainly in this. Not for arbitrary ‘I’m going to spook you’ reasons but partly because I think the world is a bit like that, you don’t really know where you stand with people. Drama tends to deal in absolutes. Characters are often written almost like they have a list of attributes and you’ve got to score them by that. Their morality may be 10 and their deviousness may be 2. That’s just not true, the world doesn’t work like that. We’re not Dungeons & Dragons characters. From day to day, we shift and change, because we’re constantly adapting to the world and I like the stuff I write to reflect that. 

What’s your approach to genre? Are there parts of The Third Day that don’t take place on terra firma, that are a fantasy inside Sam’s mind?

Possibly. I’ll be honest, I don’t really understand genre. I think I end up writing within genre a bit, but never really consciously. If someone says ‘what is a horror film?’ I don’t really know. I wrote Matilda The Musical and I didn’t really find out how to write a musical first because I wanted to write a story. So I don’t know what those rules are. I’m never really that interested in finding out what the rules are for writing things, I feel the same with genre. I wouldn’t be bothered about finding out what the rules were for writing a horror film or for writing a fantasy adventure or a sci-fi film, I think what I would do is just write the story.

Are you resistant to interpretation of your work?

Not at all. 

In episode one then, you see an island trying to protect its way of life and a suspicion of outsiders. At one point, Paddy Considine’s character mentions Somalian refugees… it made me think of the refugee boats landing on the Kent coast and the racist opposition to that.

I think that’s there. It’s not an allegory for anything. It’s not like you’d look at The Third Day and think ‘That’s the UK and Paddy represents this element and Jude represents another element’. I did want to prod at that though. I wanted to prod at that in Jude’s character, and it later does, that kind of fear of the other. I think that is in people and we’re really terrified of admitting to those things. If we can’t admit to them, then we can’t fight against them and turn them off. 

Time and again, the world shows us that isolationism is a really bad thing to resort to, in this time in the 21st century and the 20th century. Isolationism might not have been a bad thing in the 18th century, or in many of the centuries that preceded us when the world was a limitless place, but now the world is totally limited, we’re all over it, we know all of it, and we’re not getting off it, so isolating into small pockets is crazy, and the problems that we face are global problems.

You’ve said that a play can ask a question and not know the answer. Would you say the same for television?

I think it can now, because things have opened up and audiences are after much, much more complicated stories and are much braver and more sophisticated and they’re getting more sophisticated all the time. They want stuff that is genuinely challenging. 

Utopia asked a question that it didn’t have an answer for, which is: what do you do about population control? Obviously I wouldn’t advocate what the Network was saying in that but they would turn around and say ‘what do you want to do?’ You want to just sit here and do nothing? They were putting forward a solution that didn’t cause the deaths of millions and millions of people, and they would say if you don’t enact this solution, millions and millions of people will die anyway, because of the way we’re depleting resources on the planet. Utopia did ask a question that probably didn’t have an answer.

I always remember that scene you wrote in the Utopia series two finale, where a member of the Network puts forward a very rational argument for the moral rectitude of slitting a toddler’s throat. I mean, he had a point about overpopulation, and yet…

…and yet he’s totally wrong. I’ve got a one year old now. As far as I’m concerned, if it was a choice of my one year old or the world, I’d say ‘sorry world’. But it’s right as well, if you step back from everything we think and fear, he’s definitely right as well. That stuff is interesting to me because it does put us as an audience in a really difficult position.

Do you like to confront your audience?

I like to be confronted as an audience. I like things that are complicated and difficult, and I think audiences like that as well. I don’t want to preach to an audience, I’ve got no interest in doing that because I don’t know anything more than that audience, but what I like to do, as a member of an audience, is to think and have my notions challenged. 

Have you kept having those conversations with yourself about resource scarcity and overpopulation, since Utopia? Is that stuff still bothering you?

Sometimes. What I’ve found about writing is something really, really bothers me, and then I write about it and I move on. When I started writing, I wrote a lot of plays about the War on Terror and the process of writing about it means you get to a point where you don’t want to write it again. There’s something healthy and unhealthy in that – healthy in that the thing that is bothering you, you put into your work because that’s what you should be writing about, what matters most to you in the world, but also unhealthy that you go ‘oh that’s alright then, I’ll move on.’ 

I still am vexed about overpopulation and I still think it’s something that we’re not addressing. When I wrote Utopia, I remember thinking this will probably come out roughly around the time we hit seven billion. We’re approaching eight billion now, and we will go further. Then we’ve got another problem which is under-population because our population is growing older. There’s not an instant solve for these problems but I think it goes back to the idea of not being isolationist. The only way we can really think about these things is to think about the human race as one whole, as opposed to thinking about it as tiny, tiny pockets. 

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The Third Day: Summer starts on HBO on Monday the 14th of September and on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV on Tuesday the 15th of September.

The post The Third Day’s Dennis Kelly: ‘If people are telling you they’re good, you’ve got to be careful’ appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[brokehorrorfan]

Blu-ray Review: Suspiria

No one will argue that Suspiria is the greatest story ever told. It's plot - about a dance school run by a coven of witches - is dreamlike (or, more accurately, nightmarish) at best and borderline incomprehensible at worst. But many - myself included - believe that it's perhaps the most gorgeous horror film ever put on celluloid. Between the colorful lighting, the opulent production design, and the extravagant set pieces, any frame of Suspiria could be hung on a wall and appreciated as a piece of art.

Suspiria is directed by Italian master of horror Dario Argento (Deep Red, Tenebrae), who co-wrote the script with his then-partner and frequent muse, Daria Nicolodi. Both before and after his 1977 opus, Argento predominantly made films in the giallo genre, the Italian murder-mystery thrillers that he helped popularize. Stylistically, Suspiria feels like an extension of his giallo work, down to the elaborate murder sequences. Rather than an intricate procedural story, however, Suspiria explores the supernatural and embraces a fairy tale-style narrative.

The simplistic plot follows Suzy Bannon (Jessica Harper, Phantom of the Paradise), an American ballet student who enrolls in a prestigious German dance academy. The moment she arrives, a pair of students are viciously murdered in the elaborate opening set piece. Odd occurrences continue to revolve around Suzy throughout the film, ranging from death and disappearance to maggots and razor wire to drugs and witchcraft. While Harper carries the film with her childlike innocence, other notable faces in the cast include Joan Bennett (Dark Shadows), Udo Kier (Blade), and Rudolf Schündler (The Exorcist).

Suspiria has been painstakingly restored and remastered in 4K from the uncut Italian 35mm camera negative by Synapse Films. Director of photography Luciano Tovoli (Murder by Numbers, Single White Female) supervised the process, which included a new, more accurate color correction. The film's memorable lighting has never shone so vibrantly. Inspired by Disney's classic animated version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Luciano bathed the frame in vibrant primary colors.

Although not mentioned quite as often as the lighting, Giuseppe Bassan's (Deep Red, Tenebrae) production design is equally as stunning and integral to the majestic beauty of Suspiria. The particular wallpaper patterns, M.C. Escher-style geometrical murals, ornate architecture, and unique props that adorn each room in the academy make every set interesting to look at before a character even steps into frame. The baroque details are even more apparent in the new transfer.

Beyond a visual masterpiece, Suspiria's individuality extends to its sound design. The diverse soundtrack by frequent Argento composers Goblin (Dawn of the Dead, Deep Red) includes grooving prog rock, pounding tribal music, screeching synthesizers, wailing voices, ominous whispers, and the lullaby-esque main theme, which is peppered throughout the film. The enveloping audio is presented in a 4.0 English-language LCRS sound mix, not heard since the original theatrical release, along with the Italian 5.1 surround sound mix.

Like most Italian pictures of the era, Suspiria was largely filmed without sync sound. This allows for production to work at a more efficient pace, but it necessitates all of the voices to be dubbed in during post-production. Harper thankfully provided her own voice, but the majority of the other actors - several of whom spoke in their native Italian or German on set - were dubbed by American actors. This disconnect, despite occasionally adding unintended camp to the performances, only furthers the film's surreal quality.

Synapse released its long-awaited Suspiria restoration as a limited edition SteelBook in late 2017. It quickly sold out, so the company has re-issued the transfer as a two-disc Blu-ray edition. It includes all the same special features sans the bells and whistles (no SteelBook packaging, soundtrack CD, or collector's booklet). It features cover art by Joel Robinson, with the original poster art on the reverse side. Standard, single-disc Blu-ray and DVD versions are also available.

In addition to the option to play the film with either the original Italian or English opening and closing credit sequences via seamless branching, the first disc of Synapse Films' Blu-ray set offers two new audio commentaries. One features expert/author Troy Howarth, while the other has scholars Derek Botelho and David Del Valle. Despite some overlap in content, both are well-researched and informative listens.

The second disc is dedicated to extras. Actress Barbara Magnolfi, who plays Olga, is the only cast or crew member involved, but she gives a solid interview. A new, 27-minute retrospective finds various experts - ranging from journalists to authors to industry professionals - analyzing and appreciating the film. There's also a thorough, 30-minute visual essay by Michael Mackenzie; a featurette highlighting the film's German shooting locations and connections; original trailers, TV spots, and radio spots; and the alternate U.S. opening credits featuring the memorable "breathing letters."

In the aforementioned visual essay, the author waxes poetic about being unable to replicate his first viewing of Suspiria. While it's true that being engulfed by Argento’s sensory overload is a singular experience, watching Synapse Films' presentation is like seeing Suspiria for the first time again. More than just one of the best Blu-ray releases of the year, this remarkable restoration marks a milestone of the format.

Suspiria is available now on Blu-ray and DVD via Synapse Films.