movies

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Vampire night – dual book launch on Black Friday in September

It is a two-vampire-story year, with a short story following hot on the heels of my novella, Cruel Nights.

Sounds like a good reason for a party! Friday the 13th? Even better!

Nosferatu Unbound invites an international cast of writers to revisit the world of its namesake, the marvellous 1922 film.

As it happens, co-editor Steven Paulsen, illustrator Dillon Naylor and a certain Kirstyn McDermott are all fellow Ballaratians (or perhaps more fittingly, Ballarodents), hence: party!

cruel night, vampire novella by Jason Nahrung

Nosferatu Unbound will be celebrated at a release party, part of Collins Booksellers’ After Dark series, on 13 September at Collins Booksellers in Bridge St Mall, Ballarat, kicking off at 6.30pm. Also on the table will be Cruel Nights, still waiting for its official raising of the glass since its May release. There will be minimal official words, mocktails with a vampiric flavour, and books to buy, get signed, and chat about: as well as the anthology and Cruel Nights, Dillon’s fabulous vampire yarn Batrisha, and more dark tales from the four contributors.

There is a Facebook event to indicate your interest for catering purposes, or drop me or the bookstore a line.

As a further local connection, my story, ‘The Late Stage’, ships the undead off to Ballarat during the gold rush – not all gold diggers are after money, are they?

Kirstyn, meanwhile, has a familiar character of her own hot on the trail of the movie itself. Ooh!

Nosferatu Unbound is officially released on 16 September – keep an eye on the publisher’s website for purchase options.

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rec160: Wicked Little Letters

MOVIE

Title: Wicked Little Letters

Director: Thea Sharrock

Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley

Release: 1923/24

I thoroughly enjoyed this light comedy, a beautifully crafted nod to an actual event in 1920s England in which poison pen letters raise a scandal. Colman plays devout spinster Edith, around whom the storm develops as she receives foul insults via post. Suspicion falls on neighbour Rose (Buckley), an Irish mum of one who is delightfully non-conformist. The pair have a great deal of fun working off each other, and are ably supported by a cast that includes Timothy Spall at his loathsome best and Anjana Vasan, a ‘woman police officer’ displaying consummate eye rolls as she forges ahead against sexism as she seeks to solve the case. Writer Johnny Sweet balances comedy, character and serious stakes as the case splits the town. The best part of seeing it at the cinema was the cackling of the women behind us as some of the choice curses were displayed as the credits rolled. ‘Foxy arse’ may be due for a revival…

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rec160: All of Us Strangers

MOVIE

Title: All of Us Strangers

Director: Andrew Haigh

Starring: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, Claire Foy

Release: 2023 / 2024

Wouldn’t it be grand to be able to go back and have those conversations with the ones we’ve lost, while also filling them in on the meantime – that aching desire to know that we’ve done them proud. Not to give too much away, but this film, written* and directed by Haigh, is a thing of absolute beauty, enigmatic and engaging, with the major cast members bringing their characters alive with subtlety and honesty. Scott as the protagonist Adam shows amazing shades of vulnerability and earnestness. The soundtrack, big on the Pet Shop Boys (no complaint), is spot on as Adam meets his neighbour Harry while working on a screenplay about his own childhood, finding in him something of a kindred soul seemingly trapped on the outside looking in. The conceit will reward repeat viewing and spark conversation; the movie is beautifully shot, cleverly edited and craftily scripted to tease expectations as it draws the viewer in. Tissues may be handy.

* from the novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada, who sadly died last year

https://youtube.com/watch?v=O97iSjvqBlY%3Fsi%3D1UuFlk-V_EDwu_fa
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rec160: Saltburn

MOVIE

Title: Saltburn

Director: Emerald Fennell

Starring: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike

Studio: LuckyChap, 2023

There is a scene in Saltburn that had one cinema patron laughing out loud, but the rest of us were quiet, possibly trying to work out whether this faintly absurdist act was one of deep unrequited love and grief, a literal ‘fuck you’, or maybe both. The film plays with contradictions and misdirections, as a privileged university student takes one less so under his wing, the consequences playing out during a holiday break at the family mansion where the dysfunctional outfit is on full display. It’s a film that speaks to those who believe that wealth is wasted on the rich, wonderfully portrayed by Richard E Grant and Pike as the parents whose echo chamber is devoid of self awareness and moral conscience. The characters generally aren’t likeable, not even our narrator and protagonist, Oliver (Keoghan), so keen to enter this rarefied milieu, and we are left to enjoy the revelations without minding who comes out on top. Wicked fun.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=lALMdJf6UUE%3Fsi%3DsOj2OxXbIRuF32wM
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rec160: Dream Scenario

MOVIE

Title: Dream Scenario

Director: Kristoffer Borgli

Stars: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson

Studio: A24, 2023

This is being pegged as a comedy, but a laugh fest it ain’t. It serves its chuckles with a strong side of pathos, physical violence and creepiness; a seduction scene is one of the most uncomfortable in recent memory. Zebras, Jung, social media, and marketing are all in the mix as a dull, moribund college professor, played convincingly by Nicolas Cage amidst a superb cast, finds his sense of ineffectiveness manifesting in the dreams of many around the world. Empathy for Paul will vary, as he has been coasting along with his ambition of writing an academic book based on a decades-old theory still trailing behind him. When the dreams burst into viral celebrity, he eagerly snatches the sudden popularity, but the two-edged sword bites hard when his dream self goes Freddy Krueger. Moments of genuine discomfort take a science fictional turn as the ramifications of the bizarre outbreak play out, a truly horrifying concept worthy of early Black Mirror.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=q3x9iUL-74w%3Fsi%3DKWtMJoO4E41aEDHV
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rec160: Godzilla Minus One

MOVIE

Title: Godzilla Minus One

Studio: Toho Studios, Robot Communication, 2023

Director: Takashi Yamazaki

Starring: Kamiki Ryunosuke, Minami Hamabe

Japanese with English subtitles

If you want to know how to invest a creature feature with heart, you could do worse than turn your attention to this Japanese kaiju film. While it taps the lore of the long-running Godzilla movies and rewards the big screen with sound and visual effects, it invests its story with a surprising degree of emotion for the genre. Pilot Shikishima is struggling with the aftermath of World War II, during which he encountered the yet-to-be mighty monster in a prelude to the core story. For Shikishima and his fellow veterans, especially being on the losing side, the war is hard to shake. Add the bold Noriko and an orphan baby to Shikishima’s world, and the three make an unconventional unit of survivors. Then, of course, there’s the monster and its offer of redemption amid the destruction. The anti-war theme is pointed but not overblown, the final salute to a vanquished foe speaking volumes. A fabulous addition to the canon.

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rec160: Talk To Me

FILM

Talk to Me, 2022

Directors: Danny and Michael Philippou

Starring: Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Miranda Otto

Has there been a better Australian horror film since the Babadook? This debut feature from the Philippous is intelligent filmmaking, twisting the notion of a séance or Ouija board into a gripping teen drama that manages to balance gore and suspense with nary a jump scare in sight. Mia is something of a loner, having lost her mother under tragic circumstances and relying on the company of Jade and her younger brother Riley. Enter the party trick of using a supernatural hand to invite spirits to possess bodies while the gang films the excitement on their mobile phones. Of course things get, ahem, out of hand. It’s a wonderfully contained story, ramping up the stakes without going overboard; well filmed, well acted, with enough backstory to help us care for the characters and understand their relationships. It’s worth seeing on the big screen because the sound direction absolutely nails it, whether it’s creaking, moaning or a haunting lullaby. Highly recommended.

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Good things come in threes

Herewith, three groovy recent outings that put a smile on my dial:

totes80s21. Totally 80s. Sure, the tour is well over now, but I enjoyed this greatest hits parade far more than I thought I would. Great to see Real Life’s David Sterry, for starters; Wa Wa Nee brought the keytar; Katrina of the Waves rocked out. The main draw, though, was ticking off a bucket list item to finally see Berlin‘s Terri Nunn in action. The set list for Berlin: No More Words, Metro, Masquerade, Animal (yes, still making vibrant music!), Dancing in Berlin, Take My Breath Away, Sex (I’m a). Such a happy vibe, I was smiling from the moment the second song of the night, Safety Dance, got the crowd grooving.

2. Ghostbusters. The remake. Seen it twice now and it’s very cool. The climax feels a little pedestrian (maybe that was just the echo of the original) but to see these four women work together so capably — not an arse shot in the whole movie — is such a delight. Sign me up to the Holtzman fan club. I like what the flick said and how it said it and I had a lot of fun at the same time. Neat cameos, too.


 
3. Pokemon Go. I blame/thank my wife. She loaded it on my phone. And then I went to the city and saw the augmented reality overlay the game provides and it was, like, wow. And then last night we’re parking (because Ballarat turned on the wind machine) and we’re surrounded by other people parking because there are three PokeStops with lures and the critters are spawning like crazy and it’s fun and it’s kind of communal fun — I haven’t seen that much life in that street on a Monday night ever. I also like that public art and graffiti and historic sites are PokeStops so these sites are drawn to your attention. How much attention you pay as they spin and disgorge goodies and critters is up to you.

Anyway. Today is a day to consider some good things and share the word. May you too count good things.

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A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night: a worthwhile stroll

girl walks home alone at nightIt doesn’t surprise that director Ana Lily Ampour, a Britain-born Iranian, grew up in the US: this debut feature film is steeped in Western celluloid, to the extent of a laugh-out-loud use of Leone-like soundtrack at one point.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) might be set in Iran, or it might be set in Detroit (based on Ampour’s graphic novel, it was shot in California): its desolate streets and industrial backdrops and urban decay, a single crowded drug-fucked nightclub, bring to mind Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive (reviewed here).

The hero (Arash Marandi), or at least the protagonist — it’s hard to find heroism in a drug dealer — is a James Dean lookalike, though this rebel has a cause: to get out of ‘Bad City’, where his father is an addict and his horizon is strictly limited.

Enter the titular heroine (Sheila Vand) — her hajib used to effect in one of the black-and-white flick’s best set pieces, skateboarding down a night-lit street, cloth flying cape-like. There’s a degree of feminist bent to our vampire; also loneliness and likely boredom, enlivened by pop music and the occasional murder.

Part of the joy here is in the interaction: the actors convey much with little conversation; the quiet here is engrossing. The performances of the leads in particular are quite wonderful. Combined with the cinematography, that’s plenty of reason to check this out right there.

The movie lacks the subtext of Lovers, the narrative cohesiveness, but it’s a stylish genre-clash and an affecting movie, well worth visiting for some arty pastiche of east meets west.

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Oculus: quite a frightful sight (in a good way)!

oculus movie Putting my head above the parapet to share some quick reflections on Oculus, director and co-writer Mike Flanagan’s superb horror flick from last year worth looking into.

As the puns suggest, it is about a mirror. A haunted mirror. It is no laughing matter.

Dr Who‘s Karen Gillan and Aussie Brenton Thwaites play Kaylie and Tim, reunited after Tim’s got out of a psych clinic years after a horrific incident of apparent domestic abuse.

The movie cleverly merges that past trauma, with young actors Annalise Basso and Garrett Ryan giving wonderful performances, with the present as the nature of the mirror is revealed.

Illusion, obsession and confusion reign. Horror results.

Do not watch this movie if you’re feeling down.

Unlike this year’s similar and, indeed, similarly superb, Aussie effort Babadook, there’s precious little hope or light to be found here — it is perhaps my only quibble, from a thematic basis. But the narrative plays out truthfully and unapologetically.

I loved the quiet, building dread of this movie (enhanced by its subtle score), and the brilliant editing as timelines meet — no cheap, screaming string section; no gotcha! jump cuts.

The relationship between brother and sister is well drawn, their actions and reactions believable and intelligent. And by the end of the movie, boy, did Kirstyn and I hate that mirror.

Battlestar Galactica‘s Katee Sackhoff is also among the cast, but in this instance, it’s a case of no cigar for her character.

It’s great to see some clever, psychologically astute horror films around. Another recent viewing was this year’s Irish movie The Canal; alas, it didn’t hold together as tightly as the two mentioned above, and was soundly let down by its bob-each-way ending. Worth a look, though — there’s a public toilet that Candyman would be proud of.