Movie Review: Fantasm (2013)

 

As some of you may know, I am sort of a newbie to the horror convention scene, having only just attended my second con earlier this year. But I knew just after the first one that I would do my damnedest every year to make it to this event so that I could experience all the amazing feelings I had there again. It truly is an amazing place for horror fans to gather.

Horror fan Kyle Kuchta went to his first convention at 15 years old, and had to take a hiatus from going while attending college. He decided to make a documentary about the convention circuit and the community it creates in order to understand just what it is about these gatherings that keeps fans coming back for years and years.

Over the course of two years, Kutcha attended five conventions, including Monster-Mania, Rock and Shock, Spooky Empire, and HorrorHound Weekend. He procured interviews with vendors who attend several conventions a year; convention volunteers; and even with some amazing convention guests - Tom Atkins, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Tuesday Knight (obviously an Elm Street reunion going on there), and Richard Johnson. With his camera, Kutcha manages to capture all those great convention moments that makes the experience so special for all those who attend, and really captures the essence of what a con is - a huge crowd of people who are all there to share their same love of horror films.

Indeed, some of the interviewees took the words right out of my mouth when they were talking about why fans love going to these events. They hit on all the ideas of a sense of family and community that regular convention-goers have, and the sense of belonging they feel there that they may not have in their everyday life. The importance of social media was also good to include, as it definitely helps keep convention friends closer together in between con weekends. The best quote, though, was from Jack Bennett, who said that cons are great just because it gives fans a chance to finally talk to other people about what they love. If any of you have ever tried to talk horror to someone who is not a horror fan, you know the importance of this. To be able to say something or make a reference and be understood, and to not be looked at like you are weird - that's truly a beautiful and welcome thing.

A part of me sort of has to like Fantasm because the subject matter is close to my heart, but I have to be honest and say that I was a bit disappointed at how unfinished the documentary feels. Yes, Kutcha did an amazing job at getting great interviews, and his subjects gave great answers, but there is so much untapped territory here. Why didn't he interview the people who put on the conventions? All of the interviews are also either with guests or vendors - why not any of the thousands of attendees that were available, especially since they are basically what the documentary is about? I was beyond confused at that huge oversight.

There were also many parts where the doc could be jazzed up a lot. Kutcha got some great shots of all the different goings-on that happen at conventions, but there is nothing to accompany them, not even any music. I understand that this was a doc that was made for no money and is being self-distributed by Kutcha, but some basic Google research doesn't cost anything, nor does it cost anything to add in a layer of text to some shots with simple convention facts or figures. Show the growth and popularity of these cons with the number of attendees to different shows; talk about how much money is spent to put the shows on and how much vendors make at the shows - do something to continuously educate and entertain your audience, that's what a good doc does. With Fantasm short runtime (it clocks in at about 55 minutes), there was absolutely enough time to add in these little tidbits that would have made the piece that much more engaging and important.

Fantasm has a lot of heart, but it still remains only the beginning of what a documentary about conventions should be. Perhaps if enough word gets around about Fantasm, it will get a nice backing and give Kutcha the opportunity to really make it the definitive convention documentary.


Fantasm is available for purchase at http://fantasm.storenvy.com/

"Birth of the Living Dead" - All-New NOTLD Documentary!

Check out this awesome, my blog buddies - coming May 12, 2014 (only a few weeks away) is a brand new documentary about the making of Night of the Living Dead!

From the press release from Maven Publicity: "In 1968, a young college drop-out named George A. Romero gathered an unlikely team - from Pittsburgh policemen, iron workers, housewives, and aroller rink owner - to create a low budget horror film that would revolutionize the industry, and spawn a new flesh-eating monster the endures to this day... that film was "Night of the Living Dead."

This brand new documentary, "Birth of the Living Dead," is the story of how Romero managed to pull off the greatest guerrilla shoot of all time. With a whole host of exclusive new candid interviews including the godfather of zombie films George A. Romero himself, as well as exclusive brand new animations from Gary Pullin, "Birth of the Living Dead" gives a fascinating insight into this revolutionary film and is an absolute must-have for any horror fan!

Enter the original Zombie Universe, but remember, 'They are coming to get you, Barbara!'..."

Again, that's May 12, 2014 on DVD and VOD! I personally think it sounds smashing. Want a glimpse of how it's going to look? Watch the trailer!   

Which actually reminds me of some news I've been wanting to share with all of you: It is FINALLY convention time again, which means I'll be heading to Dallas, Texas in two weeks for Texas Frightmare Weekend. One of the guests? GEORGE ROMERO. You guys. I AM GOING TO MEET GEORGE ROMERO. If I don't come back from my trip, it'll probably be because I died and went to heaven.

Check This Out! "Why Horror ?" Documentary Trailer

If you're a horror fan, you've probably asked yourself at one time or another just why you are so attracted to the genre. Maybe you've even felt bad about yourself because of it. I even wrote a college paper and later a blog post about the subject and that really helped me come to terms with it and be okay with my obsession. 

The filmmakers for this documentary "Why Horror?" are also looking to explore the subject and while they seem to have a great start so far based on this Kickstarter trailer, they still need some help getting the word out there! So check out this trailer and share it with every other horror fan you know. 

More information on the filmmakers and the docu itself can be found at the Kickstarter link HERE. This looks to me like it's going to be a very fun and informative docu and I can't wait to see how it turns out. They've already got interviews with such greats like George Romero, Don Coscarelli, Eli Roth, and Alexandre Aja, so you know how serious the filmmakers are about the project, and that's something I can really respect.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/whyhorror/why-horror-a-new-documentary

Movie Review: Room 237 (2012)

You know, I love The Shining as much as every other horror movie fan or Stephen King fan or just plain old awesome movie fan. Stanley Kubrick was an oddball genius who created films that many people describe as "perfect." So taking into consideration Kubrick's careful filmmaking and attention to detail, is it possible that he had some much deeper meanings in mind when he created one of the most popular movies of all time?

Juli Kearns's Overlook map

The 2012 documentary Room 237 explores this issue, with interviews with several Shining fans giving their different interpretations and theories into what the movie represents. The interviewees are not seen on camera themselves nor are they given any kind of credentials other than the fact that they've obviously watched The Shining way, way, way, way too many times. Their theories are presented to the audience by way of clips from the film and other footage that sort of pertains to what they are talking about. 

This documentary was... hilarious. What, did you think I was going to say "fascinating" or something? No. If anything, I'll give the movie credit for being one of the best comedies I have seen in a while. Had me laughing the whole time. I've always known that there were some Shining fans out there who took the movie a tad bit too seriously and all, but this was my first time actually listening to them talk about this shit. Wait, I lied - I'd heard the stuff about the Native American genocide metaphor. It was funny to actually see them try to prove it to me. Anyway, though I admire the interviewees obvious dedication and perseverance, not a single one of their theories even slightly convinced me that The Shining is any more than it appears to be.

The conspiracy theorists actually do a good job of showing the "proof" of their ideas, even though they are all things that nobody else would have thought of... ever. They all say things like, "if you go frame by frame," or "you really have to look hard to find this one" when talking about their little Kubrick subliminal messages. I've seen the movie a pretty good number of times, okay? I never paid attention to what was in the background, granted. So here's a question for you - why would such a celebrated directed who obviously loved film put all the so-called "important" stuff in the background of his movie? Where did all this conspiracy shit even come from in the first place? Why can't the brilliance of The Shining just be that it is fucking awesome?

Seriously, the things they bring up about the movie are simply laughable. A baking soda can that is - gasp! - seen twice in the movie? A poster of a skier is really a depiction of a minotaur? The window in Ullman's office is improbable? Okay, yeah, I can kinda see where that one is coming from if I was anal retentive about architecture and spacial relations, but I'M NOT. Every time they mention some hidden message or whatever that looks to an outsider like a simple continuity error, the comment is always implied that Kubrick would never make such a mistake and that it has to mean something deeper. They saw what they wanted to see, and that's it. I'll give them that Kubrick was meticulous but not infallible. Continuity errors can happen to anyone. The world is an imperfect place.

My favorite theory was the one about how Kubrick used The Shining to subliminally tell the world that he staged the Apollo moon landing footage. Now that is just downright silly. It would be cool if it were true but you're really going off the deep end with that one, aren't you, sport? Okay, yes, I've always been a little curious about Danny's Apollo 11 sweater. Thought maybe it was just a 70s/80s thing that I wasn't around for and don't understand. There were lots of weird fashion trends going on then. Anyway, this is certainly the wildest theory to be represented in Room 237 and one that they thankfully did not spend that much time indulging.

In a weird way I liked the thing the one guy presented about watching the filming forwards and backwards at the same time, superimposed over one another. Yes, it does seem like you get some cool images from doing this, but seriously - stop and think about that for a second. Think about how much time and effort would have to be put into the filming and editing of that movie to make that happen like you think it's supposed to. It's damn near impossible. So that theory is definitely out for me.

Bah, if I go on thinking about this stuff anymore, I'll probably start to believe some of it myself. Room 237 is definitely something you all need to check out - whether you think you might agree with these fanatics or just laugh at them like I did. I really hate to be harsh, but it was sooooo difficult for me to even try to take any of this foolishness seriously. Maybe I'm just not as much of a deep thinker as these dudes are.