Ghost Stories for Christmas (1968 - 2010)
This Static Age’s spotlight
goes to Ghost Stories for Christmas
(1968 – 2010), the ‘Expanded Six-Disc Collection’ (Region 2, PAL) featuring
‘all 12 episodes of the classic A Ghost
Story for Christmas series, the entire Classic
Ghost Stories series (presented by Robert Powell), the M R James episodes
of Spine Chillers (presented by
Michael Bryant) and three of the Ghost
Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee installments from 2000. Also
included is a 48-page booklet with essays and full credits.’ With total running
time of ‘over 12 hours’ worth of content’ this is the perfect Christmas gift,
so this is the perfect time of the year to take a look on it.
Disc One includes, the legendary chiller Whistle and I’ll Come to You (1968) which by combining art-house
and experimental elements with truly eerie aesthetics it deserves its status as
a horror classic; its remake Whistle and
I’ll Come to You (2010), which is focusing mainly on modern horror atmosphere
and as such it works, so much that I’d dare to say that it is somewhat better
than the original; a short video of Jonathan Miller and Christopher Frayling
discussing the 1968 original; a really long introduction by Ramsey Campbell;
Neil Brand reading M R James’ original story; and Ramsey Campbell reading one
of his stories that were inspired by M R James.
Disc Two includes, the classics The
Stalls of Barchester (1971) and A
Warning to the Curious (1972); filmed introductions by director Lawrence
Gordon; and Ghost Stories for Christmas
with Christopher Lee – ‘The Stalls of Barchester’ by M R James and ‘A Warning
to the Curious by M R James (2000).
Disc Three includes, the classic Lost
Hearts (1973), the eerie The Treasure
of Abbot Thomas (1974), and grim The
Ash Tree (1975), all with filmed introductions by Lawrence Gordon Clark.
Disc Four includes, the classics The
Signalman (1976), Stigma (1977),
and The Ice House (1978), as well as
two filmed introductions by Lawrence Gordon Clark.
And now, let’s switch our focus towards some recent series…
Elves - Season 1
The 1st season of Elves
(2021 – present) is about the Christmas vacation of a Danish family (this
Netflix original was made in Denmark), who comes across a cute creature which
also happens to have a jailed but mean ancestor. By combining Steven
Spielberg-like storytelling and relatable teenagers, this is overall well-done
and engaging. At a mere six 24-minute-long episodes, this makes for a quick and
fun view, and is binge-worthy.
The 1st season of Russian
Doll (2019 – present) is about 36-year-old hip New Yorker Nadia Vulvokov
(Natasha Lyonne) who works as a software engineer and spends her free time
partying and using exquisite drugs. After leaving a social gathering she gets
killed in an accident, but comes back to relieve her last few moments again and
again. This is one of the most original shows on Netflix so far, with
intelligent dialogues, and an honest depiction of the upper class drug culture.
At only eight 25-minutes-long episodes, this had me wishing for more, and it
looks like we’re getting some really soon.
Doctor Who - Season 12
The 12th season of Doctor
Who (2005 – present), might be this run’s best one yet. ‘Revolution of the
Daleks’ brings back our favorite enemies that we had missed so much in the
previous season. ‘Spyfall: Part One’ and ‘Spyfall: Part Two’ nods at a
franchise that I’m quite sure you are aware of, as it brings aliens against the
MI6, who inevitably ask for The Doctor’s aid. ‘Orphan 55’ has alien monsters
attacking a holiday resort. In ‘Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror’, The Doctor
(Jodie Whittaker) meets Nikola Tesla (Goran Visnjic) and Thomas Edison (Robert
Glenister). ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’ is featuring the rhinoceros-like aliens.
‘Praxeus’ is one of the best and most complicated episodes of this season,
featuring anything, from an eco-horror plot to a gay romance subplot. The
action in ‘Can You Hear Me?’ begins emphatically enough in ancient Syria. ‘The
Haunting of Villa Diotati’ is about the birth of the Frankenstein novel.
‘Ascension of the Cybermen’ is featuring a full-on attack by its titular
villains. Season finale ‘The Timeless Children’, is a journey of epic
proportions, revealing many things about the Doctor that did not know and never
would have thought as being possible (the magic of sci-fi) and is featuring
stunning CGI work.
I Know What You Did Last Summer - Season 1
The sole season of the Amazon Original I Know What You Did Last Summer (2021), is a remake of the
same-titled slasher classic from the 1990s, and this one too is about a group
of teenagers (albeit this time more queer and feminist, to catch up with the
times) that get involved with an accidents which they cover up and are a year
later stalked by an unknown assailant. Serious when it needs to be and fun for
most of the time, this consists of 8 episodes that are worthy of a binge,
although a lot of it contains drug use, smoking, nudity, sex, and whatnot to
guarantee for a more adult viewership.
Also, please allow me to speak a word or two about some recent
mainstream films…
Shang-Chi and the Legend of...
Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend
of the Ten Rings (2021), directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, may be very
welcome for introducing the screen’s first Asian superhero in a U.S.
blockbuster (played by Simu Liu) and include some of the most stunning stunts
in recent years (both of the martial arts and the CGI variety, as well as
combinations of thereof), but the end result is weak and tiresome at over 2
hours long.
Made on a massive $110 million budget, Marvel’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), manages to look cheaper than a
SyFy production. Serial killer Cletus Kasady transforms into Carnage (Woody
Harrelson) and goes after the man who put him to jail, namely Eddie Brock who
needs to once again become Venom (Tom Hardy). Directed by Andy Serkis, this has
the feel of a b-movie noir made by people who don’t really know how to approach
this kind of cinema. Before 1991 we used to stare at the big screen in awe
during all the stunts featuring motorcycles and helicopters etc., but now with
these lame video CGI we stare in disbelief as they all look like video games.
The Matrix Resurrections (2021) promo art
Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections
(2021) is the belated sequel to the action film trilogy from 1999 – 2003 that
changed cinema forever (for good or worse is debatable amongst critics and fans
alike) and with more crucial top-notch technology at its disposal as well as a
whopping $190 million budget, this works miracles not only on the spectacle
department – something that was expected – but also on the storytelling one, as
similarly to the original film, great mythos is created. I’d go as far as to
say that this is the best in the series. Featuring returning stars Keanu Reeves
and Carrie-Ann Moss, as well as newcomers Jessica Henwick and Christina Ricci.
Parasite (2019) poster
The Academy Award Winning Parasite
(2019) directed by is a social drama about a poor family who bullshits its way
into working for a rich family in order to live behind the misery of a basement
apartment. Supposedly a commentary on capitalism and class injustice, this
preachy anomaly is boring and at over 2 hours long it becomes a torturous
experience, maybe even more painful than what the main characters have to go
through during the film’s gory finale, which cannot salvage much.
In terms of monster movies, I really wanted to review Orion Pictures’ The Prodigy (2019), which is clearly
about the possession of a young boy by something sinister, but as the film
itself refers to the event as an ‘incarnation’ kind of thing, I couldn’t
possibly built a strong case for inclusion on the reviews bellow. Saying anything
more specific about the plot would spoil the fun. Genuinely creepy and
absolutely captivating, this should not be missed by any fan of recent horrors.
Us (2019) stunning poster
Undoubtedly though, this year’s best film has to be Us (2019), which is about a vacationing Black family, that gets
terrorized but what appears to be themselves. A modern masterpiece really, that
is as atmospheric as it is visceral, and it is featuring one of the best
soundtracks in recent years. Who’d knew that Blaxploitation horrors would make
a comeback, disguised as art horror?
The aesthetics of many monsters involves Gothic sensibilities, and a
modern master of such intentions is director Tim Burton, who may have somewhat
lost his touch in the last few years, but his latest, Dumbo (2019) is a very pleasant surprise. Telling the adventures of
the titular baby elephant who is separated from his mother and now has to
perform his flying-with-his-ears-as-wings abilities in a circus in order to
find her again, this is a very touching drama, the likes of which we would like
to see more. The soundtrack by Danny Elfman is absolutely magnificent too.
Avengers: Endgame (2019) poster
Speaking of big budget stuff, I recently had the opportunity to watch Avengers: Endgame (2019), in which the
titular superheroes indulge into some time manipulation business in order to
un-fuck the world (a very common theme in today’s mainstream cinema that is all
too inspired by the climate change and other such menacing happenings). After
watching it I came to the conclusion that Disney cannot really satisfy my
appetite for popular culture; it’s just that their films are not suitable for
my delicate taste. In reality, the biggest change Marvel brought to cinema is
the studio system. Seriously, I know that this is a Marvel film, and although I
have seen all of them (despite remembering not much from any of them), I have
no idea who these directing Russo guys are! They’re not John A. Russo, that’s
for sure.
But now that the market is flooded with all kinds of superheroes (based
on comic books or otherwise), filmmakers can do all sorts of unique things,
such as comedy superhero films (you know at which Marvel property I am
referring to) that are maybe not that original (considering you know of which
1980s Troma property I am referring to), it became possible to do a superhero
horror movie and Brighburn (2019) is
just that. However the James Gunn-produced original (it is not based in any
previously franchised property, for a change) by being a cross between
super-villain origin story and a possessed kid Blumhouse kind of standard,
fails to succeed in winning either genre’s fans and it looks a bit mediocre at
both, while it is never captivating.
Possum (2018) grim poster
There is a film I loved so much that I couldn’t bring myself to properly
composing a review of it; it is much more difficult to write 1,000 words for
something you liked, rather than 10,000 words on something you hated. Case in
point the slow and atmospheric Possum
(2018) which is about a puppeteer who returns to his home and now has to face
stepfather and the numerous secrets of his family. Reminiscent of David Lynch’s
best moments, this is mesmerizing and captivating, and one of the eeriest films
to see the light of the day from Great Britain in the last decade. Highly
recommended.
Finally, The Secret Life Of Pets
2 (2019) is about further adventures of several domesticated animals, and
it is featuring hard-to-achieve animation, mainly because there are so many
different species on display. Another winner from Illumination Entertainment,
it may not be as fun as the original because that film was mostly about the
pets’ behavioral goofs, while this one is mostly about the admittedly standard
story.
The Endless (2017)
Inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, The Endless (2017) has brothers Justin (Justin Benson, who also
directed and wrote the screenplay) and Aaron (Aaron Moorhead, who also
directed), going back where they had experienced a U.F.O. death cult as kids.
Cosmic horror galore, but the end result is boring.
Blumhouse’s latest (and also promoted as the last) entry in the Purge
franchise, entitled The Forever Purge
(2021), directed by Everardo Gout, is following the story of a family of
Mexican migrants and their struggle with racism and adjusting in the U.S., but
the bigger picture is a group of right wing extremists who aim to “cleanse” the
States by continuing the purge long after its official wrapping time. Many
years since the first film, series creator James DeMonaco returns with a
surprisingly original concept, making a winner entry, as well as killer
commentary on the unofficial civil war the western civilization is
understatedly going through right now.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
In Ghostbusters: Afterlife
(2021), a younger generation of science geeks discover the tools of the trade
of the eponymous heroes of our childhoods, now old enough to be their
grandparents and equally irrelevant and forgotten, but when multiple threats of
the paranormal kind (in the form of ghosts, of course) make a spectacular
appearance, the new generation works with the old one for the good cause of
trapping the enemies. Directed by Jason Reitman (who also wrote the screenplay
with Gil Kenan), this takes a while to get things going, but once it does the
whole thing becomes super fun and absolutely respectful to the 1980s legacy.
Marvel’s Eternals (2021),
directed by Chloe Zhao introduces us to the titular superheroes and their war
against the evil deviants through space and time. Weak and far too long at over
2 and a half hours long, this is somewhat salvaged by its strong cast that
includes Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek.
John C. Donkin’s The Ice Age
Adventures of Buck Wild (2022) are about the heroic attempts of the titular
weasel (voiced by Simon Pegg) and his two possum friends (Aaron Harris and
Vincent Tong) to take down the evil empire of the Lost World ruled by a genius
dinosaur. Stunning animation and weak story are the order of the day in this
modern Disney feature, which is nonetheless fun enough to not outstay its
welcome.
The Many Saints of Newark
Alan Taylor’s gangster epic The
Many Saints of Newark (2021) is about the story of mob man Dickie
Moltisanti (an excellent Alessandro Nivola), as witnessed by a young Tony
Soprano (played by Michael Gandolfini). This prequel to the renowned 1990s
series, has all the tropes of a Scorsese masterpiece and while its focus is of
course organized crime, the story also benefits from the cultural and
historical backdrop of the time and place (New York). The cast is great and it
also includes Jon Bernthal, Ray Liotta, and Vera Farmiga.
And finally, I would like to let you know that I enriched my bookshelf
with the following additions…
I recently ran out of books and money to buy new ones, so I went for a
raid on my wife’s bookshelf, from which I picked up and read Edmund Crispin’s The Moving Toyshop (1946), Hermann
Hesse’s Demian: The Story of Emil
Sinclair’s Youth, Neil Gaiman’s American
Gods (the best novel I’ve read in ages; a real page turner), Coraline, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Madame M’s Creepy Little Bedtime Stories and Eerie Little Bedtime Stories, Agatha Christie’s The Sittaford Mystery, and Ransom Riggs’
Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children
trilogy (Miss Peregrine’s Home for
Peculiar Children, Hollow City,
and Library of Souls) and their
continuation (Tales of the Peculiar
and A Map of Days: The Fourth Novel of
Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children). I also borrowed Ian McEwan’s The Children Act (2014), from a friend.
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