31 Days of Monster Mania: Day 20: Constantine

Written by Stu Cooper

It's time to hit the road and get on the highway to hell with NBC's "Constantine"! The new series made it's debut this past Friday and it was just in time for the Halloween season. The series is separate from the film and comic series, opting to create it's own universe. The pilot episode was directed by Neil Marshall and written by Daniel Cerone & David S. Goyer. The title of the first episode was "Non Est Asylum". Matt Ryan stars as "John Constantine" an exorcist and ghost whisperer of sorts. He is followed by an angel named Manny played by Harold Perrineau.

The first episode revolves around Constantine dealing with the aftermath of a botched exorcism. During the exorcism a young girl was taken by a demon, and Constantine could not save her. He has never forgiven himself, and is apparently doomed to go to hell. He decides to use his remaining time on earth to battle demons and exorcise them from the earth. Manny the Angel plays a helper who likes to rudely remind him of his doomed fate.

The show opens with Constantine admitting himself to an asylum. He is drugged up and goes through therapy, trying to purge himself of his illness and sadness. He seems to consider his life a burden instead of the typical super hero approach. He is definitely a reluctant super hero. He is freed from the asylum after encountering a demon. At this point the show introduces his cab driver Chas who proves to be a special individual later in the show.

Constantine later meets the daughter of his old friend Jasper. Jasper has passed away but left a medallion with magical powers. Constantine gives the medallion to Jasper's daughter Liv. At first Liv struggles to believe all of this mystical stuff and writes John off as crazy. Soon Liv sees first hand the power of the demons around her and she has no choice but to believe. This leads to a team-up between Liv and Constantine. Throughout the episode we see Constantine teach Liv different terms and ideas in the demon world. He shows her how to detect demon activity, essentially helping her fight it. He also shares with her the story of Astra, the girl he lost to the Devil. Astra becomes a regular character in the thoughts of John.

A big staple of the Constantine prior to the series was the cigarette smoking, but you will notice right off the bat that this incarnation does not feature that. I suppose it was NBC's conscious decision to be overly sensitive and politically correct. The problem is, the smoking is important. In the film Constantine gets lung cancer and that's how he meets his fate, and I believe something similar happens in the comics. It will be interesting to see how they fill that void in the character. Overall tho I was pleased with the portrayal of the character. He has a bit of a "Doctor Who" element to him which may turn some off. I actually told my friend that he looks like a evil Gordon Ramsey. Only time will tell whether his character is good or not. Not a bad start. The effects are also well done, and when you see John finally use his power it's a really cool sight to see.

Overall the quality of the show was quite impressive and goes well with something like "Grimm". It's fairly light on the violence and may seem tame compared to the comic and the previous film. It's more of a CW kind of show. I would be surprised if this show ended up being edgey. Only time will tell and I'll stick around to find out. The characters are interesting and who doesn't want to see a man fight demons? It's not too late to jump into the series. It's on Friday nights on NBC so check it out, just in time for the Halloween season!

31 Days of Monster Mania: Day 14: Odd Thomas

Written by Stu Cooper

It's time for the Monster Mania countdown to get odd. Today's edition is all about the 2013 mystery horror film “Odd Thomas”. The film is based off of Dean Koontz’s novel of the same name. From my understanding the book and the film are quite similar with only a few minor differences. The film is written and directed by Stephen Summers. Sommers had worked on The Mummy series, Van Helsing, and most recently Rise of Cobra. Needless to say, Sommer's IMDB reads like a whose who of corny science fiction movies. That's why I was pleasantly surprised with “Odd Thomas”. The film stars Anton Yelchin as the lead Odd Thomas, Willem Dafoe as his father Wyatt, and Addison Timlin as Odd's girlfriend Stormy.

“Odd Thomas” is all about a teenager named Odd who has a special power. Odd has the power to see dead people. Not only can he see dead people, but he can also see demons. Instead of approaching this concept like “The Sixth Sense”, this film does the total opposite. It gets right to the point, tells you what is going on, and the action kicks off. Almost immediately we see that Odd uses his power to be a bit of a hero. He helps his detective father solve murders by communicating with some of these dead people. Not only does he help solve the mysteries, but he randomly opens a can of whoop ass on a few of these guilty parties. It definitely has a Scott Pilgrim feel when it comes to the action sequences and the dialogue between the characters. The film's tone however is a bit darker than Scott Pilgrim.

One downside to Odds powers is the demons that he can see. He refers to them as bodachs. These “bodachs” feed off of the negative energy produced by evil acts being committed. If someone dies, they want to feed off that dead person. Odd also realized that the bodachs were invisible to the rest of the world. So he has to pretend he does not see them. That's some serious concentration. The amount of bodachs in his town begins to increase, which leads Odd to think something's up. Odd is correct and there a lot of murder that's about to take place. It's up to Odd to solve the mystery and stop the event from happening. This leads to some pretty interesting ghost investigation stuff, along with some random fight scenes and horror scares. This movie is all over the place in terms of tone. You have some comedy, some Pilgrim-esque quirky dialogue, some fight sequences, and some serious horror scares. I would say it's on the same level as “Scream” in terms of handling multiple tones at once.

Anton Yelchin is very likable in the role of "Odd". I already liked the actor after his role in "Fright Night" and his fun version of Chekov in the new "Star Trek". The character is kind of like an apprehensive super hero. He didn't ask for this power, but the power chose him. Odd proves throughout the film that his level of commitment is high. The film balances the scooby doo mystery feel with a splash of real horror. There is a sequence where Odd and Stormy are trapped in a church being hunted by a ghost and it's quite intense. You really get a sense of darkness in the character's world, despite the comical style of the dialogue.

Overall I found “Odd Thomas” to be a pleasant surprise, with a dark underlying theme. The film deals with some dark subject matter, but in a very light way. I really felt myself caring about the characters. The relationship Odd has with his father, and his girlfriend seem incredibly genuine. The actors all really mesh well and feel like real people.

Addison Timlin is intoxicatingly cute in the film. She does a superb job playing the supportive girlfriend that Odd really needs. She also has lots of quick comedy and fun dialogue with Odd's dad. I think she was cast perfectly in the role. Willem Dafoe is great as always, tho it left me wanting to see more of him. Gugu Mbatha-Raw also stars as Viola Peabody, a good friend of Odds. She doesn't have much to do in the film, but it's always nice to see her pop up. We also get a creepy performance out of Nico Tortorella who plays a cop in the film. He played a villain in "The Following" and I thought he brought a lot of the same creepiness to the table in this one.

I'd love to see a sequel to the film or a series based on the film. Odd could easily go on more ghost adventures. I'm hoping to read the book at some point just to see more of this character. There is also some graphic novels based on the character that I may track down. I highly recommend this film. It's not exactly a Halloween horror film, but it's a cool unique take on ghosts that will leave you entertained.

31 Days of Monster Mania: Day 4: The Craft

Written by Stu Cooper

It's Day 4 of Film Enigma's Monster Mania and things are about to get real! Real Wicca that is! Today's entry is about the 1996 film “The Craft”. If you grew up in the 1990's then you most likely remember the surge of horror that took place from 1995 to 2000, in which we saw tons of teen angst horror like “Scream”, “Disturbing Behavior”, “Urban Legends”, “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, and “Phantoms”. Okay...so maybe not everybody saw that last one, but you get the point. “The Craft” hit theaters in May of 1996 and has been remembered ever since. I'm going to dive into the film and talk about why so many of us Generation X kids remember this movie, and if you haven't seen it, maybe you will give it a chance.

“The Craft” is a suspenseful film that revolves around a group of high school girls that are exploring the powers of witchcraft. The film features Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Rachel True, also future 90's slasher stars Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich. The main character is a troubled teen named Sarah (Robin Tunney) who has moved into a new city with her father and when she arrives at her new school she immediately grabs the attention of 3 fellow students who sense that there is more to Sarah than meets the eye. The three girls consist of a timid bookworm named Bonnie (Neve Campbell), a swimmer named Rochelle (Rachel True), and Nancy (Fairuza Balk) who acts as a Gothic leader to the group of girls. The girls have formed their own coven but they realize they need a fourth witch to complete their group, and that is where the new girl Sarah comes in.

Sarah is befriended by the group and starts spending a lot of time with them. You quickly pick up on the fact that these girls are quite rebellious and may not be the best candidates for mystical powers. Nancy in particular is quite unstable but thankfully the others in the group seem to just be along for the ride and don't quite share Nancy's insanity. The coven convinces Sarah to join after catching her using her powers. Since Sarah has quite a troubled past, she goes a long with It and seems happy to be a part of a group, despite not practicing witchcraft as much as the others. It's not long until the girls begin playing with spells that create trouble and this leads to more lust for power within the group. The leader Nancy becomes obsessed with summoning a god named Manon, while Bonnie uses her powers to cure a terrible skin condition she has, and Rochelle uses her power to exact revenge on a school bully. Sarah, who I'll refer to as “The Good Witch” seems apprehensive about using her powers to serve herself, but gives in to peer pressure and casts a love spell on a high school football player (Skeet Ulrich).

The spells and lust for power begin to corrupt the members of the group, except for Sarah. The others start to show personality changes and continue to add spells to their lists, never being truly fulfilled with the power they already have. Sarah stays true to her morals tho and begins distancing herself from the activities of the coven, realizing that they are using magic for the wrong reasons. This is where the main conflict of the film comes from. Nancy has basically brainwashed the coven at this point, which leads to the coven inflicting all sorts of pain and chaos on fellow students. Sarah “The Good Witch” becomes a target once she vows to no longer be involved. It then becomes Sarah vs. The Coven. Without spoiling the rest of the film, I will say that this conflict leads to some pretty spooky scenes and a Good vs. Bad witch fight between Sarah and Nancy that is quite unforgettable.

“The Craft” is a memorable film for several reasons. The film features a young cast with lots of talent. Fairuza Balk as “Nancy” shines as the villain and the scenes where she lets loose are incredibly unsettling. It may have something to do with the fact that the actress actually does practice Wicca in real life, and she truly believed in a lot of the things her character was doing. If you've seen her in “American History X” then you are probably familiar with how insane and creepy she can be. Robin Tunney does a good job as the lead Sarah, tho she has a wig on the entire film because she shaved her head for the film “Empire Records” and had not yet grown it back. So you may get a bit distracted by her odd hairline. She does a good job playing the innocent girl who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd. Neve Campbell, Rachel True, and Skeet Ulrich all do a good job in their supporting roles.

One thing you may notice if you revisit the film is that it has a lot of parallels with the film “Mean Girls”. I'm not sure if the writer of “Mean Girls” drew any influence from this film, but it does seem almost identical in some parts, minus the comedic tone. The one negative I will say is that the 90's tone of the film does make the film feel a bit dated. There are some pretty outrageous wardrobes, but the music is top notch and gives you a great 90's horror feel. If you are a fan of 90's horror/suspense, you can't go wrong with this one. I would put “The Craft” above films like “Urban Legend” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” because it's less by-the-numbers horror and tells a story that you don't see too often.

Just to add a little extra spook factor to the film, the cast reported having some serious issues during the film, possibly because of the subject matter and the fact that they used REAL spells. During the scene where the coven is on the beach trying to summon Manon, the cast said that bats swarmed them and caused the candles to blow out, the ocean waves got more aggressive, and the crew actually lost power. So add “The Craft” to films like “The Exorcist” and “Poltergeist” that caused real life fear and drama amongst the cast and crew. I will also note that while the spells that the characters used were real, the writers made sure to change a few details so that people would not be encouraged to practice potentially dangerous spells. Again blurring the lines between entertainment and reality. I would encourage horror fans to revisit this film, and if you haven't seen it at all it's actually available on Netflix this month. It's the perfect film for the Halloween season.

Youtube Gem: DON'T trailer

For one of this week's Youtube gems I chose the fake grindhouse trailer that aired between Planet Terror and Death Proof. If you saw it in the theaters then you are probably familiar with the trailer. If not, enjoy! And DON'T forget to vote in our Ultimate Halloween Baddie poll!

Monster Mania Day 2: Lovely Molly

Written by Stu Cooper

For Day 2 I decided to continue the theme of underrated horror films with "Lovely Molly". "Lovely Molly" was a paranormal horror film released in 2011 directly to DVD. The film was available on redbox for a short time and is now streaming on Netflix, which is where I discovered the film. The story follows a young newlywed named Molly, played by the beautiful Gretchen Lodge and her husband as they move into her parent's old house. Molly's husband is a truck driver and has to leave a lot, so the film primarily follows Molly as she stays in the house alone. Soon after moving into the house Molly begins experiencing some very eerie disturbances. It starts off small with noises and whispers but escalates into violence eventually. We also see a first person perspective throughout the film provided by the couple's handheld camera. The viewer does not know who is operating the camera until the end of the film, so there is another layer of creepiness added on. The catch to all of this is that Molly is a recovering heroin addict and she relapses. So you are left wondering if all of these paranormal experiences are real or just hallucinations caused by her addiction. This is an idea that was later used in the Evil Dead remake. I can't help but wonder if the writer of that film was a fan of this one.

"Lovely Molly" is a slow disturbing paranormal thriller and it's a great watch if you are home alone and want to scare the hell out of yourself. I wouldn't recommend it for a date night movie because it is a pretty heavy handed film that features tones of rape,incest,drug use, and some pretty graphic violence. Unless of course your partner is already pretty open minded, then it works! The film portrays the slow descent of a woman into lunacy. Losing my mind has always been a big fear of mine so perhaps that's why I felt so disturbed by the film. Another scary thing to note is that the guy who played Molly's husband, Johnny Lewis, actually went insane in real life after this film. He killed his landlord, her cat, and then himself last year. He was also featured on Sons of Anarchy, One Missed Call, The O.C. and several other films. It's always extra eerie when an actor dies after filming something that involves demons/ghosts (The Exorcist, Poltergeist). Overall the film accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, make you uncomfortable and creeped out. The film also introduces a new element to the tired paranormal genre. It leaves you feeling paranoid and it also has several interpretations. I think even Peter Venkman would have trouble sleeping after watching this movie.