What Could Have Been: Schizoid

Though most will immediately connect the name John Carpenter with iconic director, many do not know that the legendary filmmaker is also the composer of most of his works – think The Fog, Escape from New York, Halloween (considered one of the greatest horror scores of all-time) and so many others. So, when it was announced that Carpenter would be doing a North American concert tour called “Anthology” – the title of his new album, needless to say, it was on my radar. Carpenter visited the M Telus ampitheatre (formerly the Metropolis) in Montreal this past Monday, the 13th of November, and, as you likely guessed, I was there. Fusing horror motifs, synthesizers, and stadium-sized rock n roll together, it was a powerful, emotive night led by the maestro himself. Rearranging each of his memorable scores into approximately four minute segments, the music alone brought the sold out, movie-crazy crowd back to the first time they experienced one of his films – though a montage of each movie’s greatest hits was projected onto a multi-angled screen behind the band. His son, Cody Carpenter (playing lead synthesizer), and lead guitarist/godson Daniel Davies (son of The Kinks’ rock legend Dave Davies), accompanied him both on the album and live, while, also on stage was drummer Scott Seiver, rhythm guitarist John Konesky and bassist John Spiker (all three also played a part in the making of the album).

As you can likely imagine, I go through quite a few horror movies every October. . . and not every one I watch meets my strict criteria and earns a review. But, that is not to say that these films may not interest you, so, instead of letting them fall behind in the forest for the proverbial psychopathic serial killer, I’ve decided to start this new blog feature in which I will provide you with the good, the bad and the ugly on those horror flicks that just missed the bloody cut. 2017's A Ghost Story, written and directed by David Lowery, is arguably one of the more creative and unique iterations on a spectre in some time. A deep philosophical rumination on love, life, death, loneliness, time and ghosts, it takes the rare position of showing the ghost’s point of view. Less a typical horror story and more along the lines of a fantasy drama, the movie stars Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara as the two leads. Kind of a spoiler, but not really, Affleck dies early on, and, instead of moving on, he feels like he has unfinished business, and returns to live a pale existence of what life once was.

I would be remiss if I did not write an important tribute on the Toronto International Film Festival selected documentary Long Time Running, which tells the closing tale of the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip (who I was lucky enough to see perform at the Canadian Football League halftime show at the Grey Cup in Ottawa). Filmizon.com was never set up to review documentaries, so this short commentary finds its way into the blog section – also signifying the importance of this movie. For those of you who do not know, The Hip have been one of the pre-eminent Canadian rock and roll bands of the past thirty years – consisting of lead singer Gord Downie (his words that of a lyrical lyricist poet), guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois, bassist Gord Sinclair, and drummer Johnny Fay – they have all been friends since childhood. With iconic hits like “New Orleans is Sinking”, “Boots or Hearts”, “Courage”, “At the Hundredth Meridian”, “Fifty-Mission Cap”, “Ahead by a Century” and so many others, they are the number one selling Canadian band of all-time. Never truly gaining major ground in The United States or the rest of the world, they are the rare example of a Canadian artist/group who have resisted the cultural draw to the south and instead stayed in their home and native land. And their music speaks to this. . . in a rare country that does not tout its past, The Hip are the unusual example of making history come alive, developing an almost folkloric mythical quality for Canada’s memorable moments (including hockey), and of late, the longstanding aboriginal plight.

It is already October 1st (kind of hard to believe), and you all know what that means. . . time for some great horror films to be reviewed leading all the way up to Halloween. Expect modern miracles as well as classics, so keep your eyes open for a variety of intriguing movies that show the diversity and creativity that lies within the suspense-filled genre. Also, as a lead in, I wanted to quickly highlight the anniversary of a little known cult classic that I only found out about a little over a year ago, titled Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told. Celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year, it was actually filmed three years earlier over 12 sweltering hot days in August of 1964. Bankruptcy issues with the producers stalled it for three and a half years; eventually it did arrive in theatres on December 24th, 1967 (an odd time to be sure), though not to much fanfare.

You may be wondering why I am writing about Mother!, Darren Aronofsky’s new horror film, as a blog post and not as a review. A complex piece of cinema that is both rewarding and frustrating, it is something I cannot wholly recommend for viewing – a must for me. To many viewers, it will likely feel like the exclamation point should be replaced by a question mark. . . perhaps several. Likely to leave many audience members baffled, it is still important to understand the basis for the story, as well as the text, subtext, and sub-subtext that makes the tale so seeped in allegory. This will hopefully provide brave cinephiles with a guidepost that will enlighten them to Aronofsky’s vision, whether they walk away from it with one viewpoint or another, loving or loathing it.

Over misty mountains and through coniferously wooded dales, I made the three plus hour trek back through the picturesque Adirondacks, returning to the beautiful town of Ticonderoga, New York. Nestled between striking Lake Champlain, Lake George and the Vermont border, the third annual Trekonderoga, the aptly named convention, provides fans of the original Star Trek series with a multitude of opportunities and activities. Starting on Friday, the 25th of August and running through the weekend, attendees were able to tour the meticulously constructed set of the original USS Enterprise, see the Batmobile, browse through a plethora of vendors, listen to a wide array of panels, and meet their favourite celebrities – a rich, nuanced and vivid experience for all those looking to collect, learn, and make long lasting memories.