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Throwback Thursday: Empty Street at the End of the World: Fulci’s ‘City of the Living Dead (1980)’

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 15:20:20 +0000

City of the Living Dead isn’t your parent’s grandma’s cousin’s sister’s walking dead. These dead folk have a leader: a priest (Fabrizio Jovine), who hangs himself in the opening scene. Since then, his corpse appears around the city–with rope still taut around his neck–to reanimate the dead for horrific bursts of violence as the city is overcome with mist, and its inhabitants flee for shelter. Lucio Fulci’s film covers one of the famed director’s beloved topics: the end of the world. Winds of a thousand maggots blow through shutters, the little fellas nesting in the actor’s left over 70s hairstyles. Fathers lose their minds, going to extreme lengths to protect their children. The hanged priest stares at a woman so hard that her eyes bleed, and all her insides–and I do mean all–pour from her mouth like a fountain. Yes, like most Fulci films, this one is very graphic. Neither men, women, or children are safe. While some think A Quiet Place or Bird Box when it comes to perceived-pandemics, my mind goes to Day of the Dead, or this film. Fulci underscores emptiness with a city gone dark (is it ever daylight in this film?), extreme close-ups, and zero compassion. In one […]

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Throwback Thursday: ‘On The Silver Globe’ (1988)

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 16:15:42 +0000

This film — should you be lucky enough to see On the Silver Globe — is an exhausting, mad experience. An endurance test, but director Andrzej Jaroszewicz surely intended the film to affect audiences in such a way. I’m not saying it’s a hallmark film of his – his classic movie Possession (1981) takes the title as it breaks me every time I watch it due to the emotional intensity of its lead actors. On the Silver Globe attacked my senses and mental well-being with its harrowing pace and images of mindless war. Noted torturer of audiences, Gaspar Noe, cites Jaroszewicz’s work in his recent film, Climax, for a reason — the two know how to drill into the minds of their viewers, and place something awful there. So what is On the Silver Globe? The Austin Film Society (AFS) (who held the screening I attended) describes the film as “a mystical sci-fi parable of space messiahs and tribal warfare on a faraway planet,” and the film does indeed feel like it’s from another dimension. The locations are barren, with a hue of blue and gray. Wide-open spaces or cavernous tunnels hold horrific secrets. On top of sets and locales, everything […]

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Review: Constantine’s First Story Arc Burns Down: ‘A Green And Pleasant Land Part 3’

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 21:31:01 +0000

John Constantine’s met every kind of angel and devil there is, yet he’s often surprised by their dogma-selective fanbase. “A Green and Pleasant Land” is about cherry-picking what’s convenient and choosing words that best suit our plans, or vices. Take the madman in the park, Derek, who loves to quote William Blake while magical angels burn territorial gang members to death. Of course, he’s hiding from his own demons. Spurrier highlights JC’s destructive stubbornness, as recruits Nat and Noah will no doubt discover is essential to the man. Like Chaz before them, Constantine’s toxic ways hurt both friend and foe. Despite all his talent, the man can’t keep a true friend. For madman Derek, his demise is built on the lie that his dead wife offers her forgiveness (from the grave, no less). “I spoke to her, mate.” Constantine assures him. Like many of us, Derek lashes out at complete strangers, projecting his own sins. Spurrier gives JC all the right words as he forces the man to ask for forgiveness. “So there’s your f***ing cherubim right now,” Constantine quips, as Derek is torn apart by his precious angels, who are bloodthirsty for redemption. This is core Constantine–he gets his […]

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Review: ‘Gretel & Hansel’ Slides Down Your Gullet With Style

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 19:08:08 +0000

Orion Picture’s Gretel and Hansel portrays fairy tales as they should be — not far from a nightmare. Since this is a tale about kids, every adult terrifies via grotesqueness, or just by their willingness to separate from their own kin. Osgood Perkins’s (The Blackcoat’s Daughter) newest film is about consuming bad habits, and how being solitary is sometimes necessary, especially if you’re feeling witchy (and who isn’t these days). This cautionary tale shares DNA with The VVitch — it’s often a moody, dark film, lit only by lanterns in the triangle house where the leads ultimately find themselves for a spell. Despite this bleakness, Gretel & Hansel is a beautiful film to look at. The camera work alternates between static shots of odd, fall landscapes, or shakey too-close-for-comfort individual shots of the actors. Sophia Lillis (It) plays the big sister, and Samuel Leakey is the boy Hansel. Lillis has an occasional voice-over, but it’s never intrusive. I neglected to check the rating initially, which is PG-13. This does not feel like a PG-13 film. The threatening, but never over the top performance by Alice Krige (Silent Hill) as the witch isn’t kids stuff, nor are the images of various […]

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Kristen Stewart Floats Above The Horror Tropes In ‘Underwater’

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 01:04:00 +0000

Despite the trappings of its familiar parts, Underwater is science fiction without nihilism. The movie is made up of the DNA of Blade Runner and Aliens, specifically the latter, but the humane script by Brian Duffield (Insurgent) allows the audience to hope for the character’s survival against the odds of such movie structures. Kristen Stewart stars as Nora, who works as a mechanical engineer for an underwater drilling expedition. She’s well-liked by her Captain (Vincent Cassel) and crewmates. The first telling moment of her character is when she spares a spider in the sink. “How’d you get down here?” she asks. Stewart spends most of the film pant-less, finishing the runtime with an aesthetic to make an independent pro wrestler proud: knee and elbow pads, sports bra, tiny shorts—all in black. She’s certainly a standout visual in style alone. The dive suits aren’t bad either, with lots of intricate details over a white color scheme. Underwater plays with common fears: claustrophobia, isolation, and the unknown, as any film or television episode might that borrows so heavily from Aliens. The survivors have to keep moving, though each new place they find seems worse than the last. There seems to be a […]

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“The Dark Compass” Points ‘Dracula’ Towards The Future | Review

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 14:00:12 +0000

We begin 123 years away from the previous episode, with Dracula (Claes Bang) meeting Human Progress. He likes what he sees, especially the “flying thing” (a helicopter), and quickly adapts to his surroundings. He figures out the camcorder is a camera and how pointing a gun at someone helps you get what you want. He plays with one before using the other to take out an operative, point blank. This isn’t Sister Agatha (Dolly Wells) on the beach, but her descendant, Zoe (also Dolly Wells) and for some reason, she wants Dracula to survive this night, even at great risk of danger. Shortly after, a home invasion sees Drac watching a sunrise on the TV. He’s killed the homeowner’s husband and stuffed his undead corpse into the fridge. The wife paces around her kitchen, unsure what to do while he compliments her home (a modest apartment), and how rich she must be with all these comforts. “It’s a dump,” she says. He looks at her like she’s mad, and says, “It’s AMAZING.” He tells her that he’s a vampire and allows her to ask him questions. She lands on the mirror myth, where vampires can’t see themselves. “I don’t see […]

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TV Review: ‘Dracula: Blood Vessel’ (Season 1, Episode 2)

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 07:43:25 +0000

Dracula (Claes Bang) charms his way into brunch with the Grand Duchess, Valeria. She’s flattered by his attention, which is both flirtatious and dominant. He shows his capacity for patient, waits for her to recognize him from the night her mother disappeared, many years ago, when she was young. See, it’s important that she knows him before he drinks her dry. “Shall we dance again?” he says, satisfied. “Blood Vessel” is Gatiss and Moffat being punny with the title, but it’s still an accurate description. Taking place solely on a sailing vessel, this episode adapts one of my favorite parts of the novel wherein Dracula goes a-travelin’ and everyone on board dies with the Captain tied to the wheel of the ship. But Dracula doesn’t quite keep to this version of the story. After last episode’s events, it’s strange to see Sister Agatha (Dolly Wells) and Dracula just hanging out, playing literal chess (that trope’s a bit tired, yes?). We don’t know why, but Dracula’s telling stories, particularly about his cruise. Agatha’s surprised to learn that he travelled openly, to which he quips, “It’s four days—what, did you think I’d travel in a box?” Sure enough, he boards like the […]

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Netflix Review: ‘Dracula: The Rules Of The Beast’ (S1, E01)

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 09:15:12 +0000

Mark Gatiss and Stephen Moffat (Sherlock, Doctor Who) bring the legendary vampire to Netflix with the best kind of reinvention: beholden to its source material, yet contemporary and profane in ways that only add to the lore. There are no pop songs here, just a great orchestral score that echoes the Hammer films of the past and lots of gnarly gore effects (there’s a jaw-dropping transformation scene). This premiere episode is unabashedly Gothic, faithful to Bram Stroker’s creation for the majority of the episode with the exception of that jarring opening that lets us know everything is on the table. I’ll say upfront that Gatiss and Moffat’s new take succeeds because the following review is spoiler-filled. This is very much a recommend, but do come back once you’ve seen it. If you’re a horror fan, this show is a must-see, and I’m curious if you’ll enjoy their mix of humor and darkness as much as I did. Gatiss is a known horror historian, and that love shines through. ***** If you’ve read the novel or seen an adaptation, you know the premise: It’s 1897, and lawyer Jonathan Harker (John Heffernan) travels to Count Dracula’s castle, under the guise of employment. […]

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Neon Bodies, Space, And Everything Below: The 2010s On The Big Screen

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Wed, 01 Jan 2020 04:09:42 +0000

Another decade has gone, and once again it took me a week to understand the significance. ‘Nanny McPhee’ haunted our dreams, while Vera Farmiga fought in the ‘Conjuring‘ franchise to save us. ‘The Social Network’ trailer cursed all future trailers with its acapella rendition of “Creep,” thus ensuring that “Rock Lobster” will someday — somehow — be slowly slowed down for us, the audience. Because it’s what we want. But there were plenty of non-cursed offerings. Here are the ones that stuck with me. This is in no way comprehensive, but films that came to mind without much brain digging. 13 Assassins (2010) I Saw the Devil (2010) Attack the Block (2011) The Raid (2011) The Master (2012) The Avengers (2012) Dredd (2012) Sinister (2012) The Loved Ones (2012) Genre was bigger than ever, with “cape” films being consumed by the masses. As for the sanctity of Marvel movies, I don’t think they need defending. Look to the box office of every year — they’re doing fine. By the way, I did love Ragnarok, Homecoming, and Winter Soldier. Seeing the Avengers assemble was a lifetime in the making, and even though it’s not my favorite, it meant a lot. The […]

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Best Original Soundtracks And Scores Of 2019

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 22:27:29 +0000

This list compiles a handful of memorable sounds for 2019, spanning across film, TV, video games, and the imaginary. A little something for everyone! Before you wonder where Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is, let me just say: there’s only so much room. And I wanted to mix it up a bit, as QT’s compilations typically receive numerous mentions. Of course it’s good, and you should probably listen to it. In the meantime, please enjoy our list below and give them a spin (or click). Mandy (film) For many, the late Johann Johannsson was the best composer around. Having scored films like Sicario and Arrival, Mandy wouldn’t have been the same film without the Icelandic composer’s moody and violent percussion that accompanied Nic Cage’s Mega-Acting. When the monstrous armored Hell knights arrive in the woods, the soundtrack rains brimstone. For such a visual-heavy picture it’s impressive that the OST holds its own. Here’s Johannsson’s “Forging the Beast.” The man will be missed. Mandalorian (Disney Plus) Disney’s streaming hit seems impervious to Star Wars fatigue, with its cool Old West-iness and green-meme-baby easily finding an audience. Part of the allure is the score, clearly inspired by Morricone with its […]

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‘Hellblazer’ Issue 2 Review: John Constantine Gets His Wings

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Sun, 22 Dec 2019 05:32:55 +0000

Following last issue‘s massacre at the park (mysterious angels who LOVE skinning humans), K-Mag sums up everyone’s mood: “Oh my days.” The Ri-Boys leader continues to pressure Constantine for help. “It’s not a question of IF, is it? It’s WHY,” our surly hero retorts. JC’s motivations are rarely for gain alone or formal payment. Constantine likes the strategy of it and seems to find amusement in watching others fail (via their own hand, or by JC’s own contributions). K-Mag appears to pick up on this, calling the magician out. “You tell yourself you can’t leave no evil sh*t without making beef on it,” he says, ending with, “I know a junkie when I see him.” Boy, is that accurate. Constantine relents with the promise that K-Mag won’t hurt Noah, the mute lad. Noah signs that it’s better to stand behind a tiger than in front of wolves. Ever the a-hole, Constantine admits he doesn’t know sign language, but that whatever Noah said is “really stupid.” He lights a smoke and heads off, mumbling about being a survivor. Later, Noah suggests that he put a bullet in JC’s noggin. This relationship seems one-sided, methinks. JC consults Vestibulan (a former angel whose […]

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TV Review: ‘The Purge Season 2 Finale: 7:01am’

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 18:43:37 +0000

The end is nigh! Our cold open reveals a broadcast room for NFFA employees to communicate with the outside world during the big night. I suppose that’s going to come into play, isn’t it? But on to the revolution. Esme (Paola Nunez) breaks into NFFA HQ to obtain the footage of Professor Adams’s murder. She transfers the video to the broadcast room (oh, that was fast) and asks Vivian (Charlotte Schweiger) to sneak her into the room. They dart past a few co-workers without being noticed (weird?), except for one lady, who rings up a superior. Within moments, he stops them on the stairwell, but Esme talks her way past him. Only the truce doesn’t last. He fires at Vivian, wounding her, and Esme puts him down. Vivian tells Esme to go. “Tell everyone,” she says. 2 hours of the Purge left, and Michelle (Rochelle Aytes) is under the knife, as Marcus (Derek Luke) works to save her life. In another ward, Ben (Joel Allen) comes to, having been “saved” by Marcus. Surprise! He’s bloodthirsty again. Out on the streets, Ryan (Max Martini) and Tommy (Jonathan Medina) make short work of the Jackals transporting the stolen loot, while also dealing […]

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John Constantine Is Back And He’s Dirtier Than Ever

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 14:15:13 +0000

If you’re new to John Constantine, welcome, and get used to the smoke. He’s got quite the habit. But if John’s an old friend of yours, then you’ll be delighted to know that he’s allowed to tell dirty jokes again, because this series is under DC’s new mature readers line, Black Label. Cheers! This inaugural issue begins with Constantine off-panel, relaying one such joke to a bar full of hipsters. After he gets tossed on his rear, he strikes up a conversation with the bouncer, a Glaswegian woman named Nat. “Ask ye this: ye know why tough birds love Spartacus?” She asks. “Cos he was hung like this,” she says, gesturing like she’s talking about a big fish. This woman is clearly immune to Constantine’s rough exterior. Immediately after introductions, she says, “I’ll not f*ck ye, John,” then sizes him up as someone who “collects folks” just to make himself feel like he’s got a circle of friends. Yeah, that’s about right. John relies on his thick skin here to remain undaunted. He’s not lonely, he corrects her, just “Lacking in acquaintances.” Speaking of skin, lads are losing theirs in the park. It seems that “angels” have arrived to prey […]

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TV Review: ‘The Purge: Hail Mary’ (S2, E09)

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 23:06:16 +0000

If you’re a fan of pro wrestling, then you might’ve seen the Bray Wyatt’s Firefly Funhouse, a take on educational puppet shows. “Hail Mary” opens with a similar concept, a perverse education on how adults get to “release” one night a year. We learn that young Ben was a fan, bashing his toy robots against each other. I mean, didn’t everyone do this with their Barbie dolls? Adult Ben (Joel Allen) wants to forge a bond with his captive, Turner (Matt Shively). He demands Turner kill another housemate or die. Ben leans over Turner’s shoulder, guides his hands as a long blade penetrates the unfortunate housemate. Hey, it’s like that scene from Ghost, with the pottery sculpting! Outlaw Esme (Paola Nunez) is the Number 1 priority. Joke’s on them—she’s got a cool motorcycle and leather gear. She visits Skye (Tyner Rushing) at an underground network who helps the fugitive to manufacture fake “live” footage of herself to distract the Founding Father creeps. So far, so good. Good Guy Marcus (Derek Luke) prepares for invasion. The neighborhood invaders show signs of “Purge jitters,” but successfully rip Marcus’s shutters off, then employ firebombs to smoke ‘em out. Clint (Dave Maldonado) deals with […]

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TV Review: ‘The Purge: Before The Sirens’ (S2, E08)

Anthony Isaac Bradley — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 22:30:42 +0000

Hey, mean girls love the Purge! It’s a silly cold open, with a sassy teen dress-up montage. Their father interrupts, and his little girl threatens him with a spiked mace. Selfie! Marcus (Derek Luke) and Michelle (Rochelle Aytes) get strapped to deal with bad neighbors, who’ve removed the hit. Why? So they can Purge Marcus themselves. They’re economical killers, and I’m guessing the vengeful Clint would rather do it himself anyway. A couple of old friends show up to help the targeted couple so it’s four against the whole neighborhood. I have to wonder if they’re here to strike at Marcus from the inside. Marcus’s son, Darren (Denzel Whittaker) won’t be around for the climax because Daddy broke the kid’s arm, ensuring that he’d be safe in a hospital on Purge Night. In an unexpected moment, Marcus uses a large rock to do the damage, which could be overkill? Now all they have to do is wait for Clint to make his move. Esme (Paola Nunez) calls in a favor to her ex-coworker to report a false tag on her location as a distraction, while Ryan (Max Martini) puts up with the rude demands of his superior (Christine Dunford). When […]

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