The Lucid Nightmare

Sunday, May 27, 2012

REVIEW: In the Dust of the Stars

In the Dust of the Stars
Director: Gottfried Kolditz
Year 1976

In the Dust of the Stars is a deliciously strange East Germany science fiction production that takes an interesting plot and cranks the weird to the max. Seemingly forged after someone’s drug induced trip, the filmmakers create a cast of characters that are both wildly entertaining and intriguingly obscure. If it’s trippy sci-fi that you seek, then In the Dust of the Stars is right up your alley.

The film follows the crew of the Spaceship Cyrno as it arrives on the planet TEM 4 after responding to a distress call that they received six years earlier. Upon arriving, they come to find that the people of TEM 4 deny the existence of the distress call and seem oblivious to any danger to their society, as they party down in some of the most eclectic and groovy sets known to the science fiction world, aside from Barbarella of course. Disappointed over having traveled six years only to be laughed at and told it was all for nothing, the majority of the crew decide to head back home, but there is one man named Suko who isn’t so convinced that the rulers of TEM 4 are being truthful about the distress call. Suko boldly defies the locals’ orders and flies a reconnaissance shuttle over the planet in order to find the source of the mysterious beacon. To his surprise, he stumbles upon a conspiracy that not even he could have fathomed. This science fiction film is a strange little gem that has a whole hell of a lot of entertainment value. That is if you are open to weird and wild cinematic civilizations.

Alfred Struwe plays the role of Suko, the suspicious cosmonaut who snoops into the business of the TEM 4 people and gets more than he bargains for. Struwe does a great job as the catalyst of this film, as he pushes the story forward by delving into the mystery of the cover-up and the inevitable reveal of what is really going on behind this strange new world. I enjoyed his restrained style of acting and felt that he gave an admirable performance that was both subtle and effective. Alongside him is Jana Brejchova who plays the role of Akala, the leader of the crew. Jana is simply amazing as the captain and she gives such an expressive nature to Akala that you can’t help but sympathize with her plight on finding out that they traveled all of that way for nothing. She distresses over the futility of the mission, and is often in disarray over the meaningless of it all, but once revealed the truth she becomes an outstanding hero of the film. I really enjoyed her portrayal of the complex character of Akala and I enjoyed the complicated relationship that Suko and her shared throughout the film. It also didn’t hurt that she looked strangely beautiful in this film as well.

Onto the baddies side of the fence we have Milan Beli playing the role of Ronk, the no nonsense son of a bitch who does everything he can to make the crew of the Cyrno’s life a living hell. I really got a kick out of Milan’s approach towards Ronk. He’s sadistic in every way possible and he’s always looking for a way to screw with the minds of the crew before he disposes with them. He even gets a chance to showcase his master torture skills when he captures Suko while he’s snooping around. He does this by introducing him to a trippy mind meld device that looks like a giant pair of deadly earmuffs from which a painful shock is blasted into the ears of the poor sole stuck between them. The boss of this bat shit crazy organization is lead by a man called the Chief, played by the ambiguous Ekkehard Schall. This dude was born for this role, because I don’t think you could find a more effeminate and peculiar man even if you tried. The Chief is not sadistic like Ronk, but he is extremely flamboyant and theatrical in his performance. With his ever changing hair color, to his obsession with stroking his oversized anaconda (say what?!), the Chief is definitely a memorable character. I have to hand it to Ekkehard, because there really isn’t anything like the Chief out there in sci-fi land so the originality of his performance shines through and through every time.

To keep up with this wild cast of characters, the film provides some amazing locations and sets that highlight the brash and vivid nature of the movie. Colors abound with a kaleidoscope blast which mimics the overabundance of style that these flamboyant people of TEM 4 have. There is also a heavy use of obscure sets, most notably displayed in Chief’s mirrored lair which sets the audiences mind into dizzying fits whenever we are presented with it. The barren desert landscape that is represented as the desolate surface world of TEM 4 is wonderfully shot, making you feel like you actually are visiting a distant planet filled with unusual sights and equally unusual inhabitants.

That’s one of the most accomplished aspects of the film, because the culture of the people of TEM 4 is just out of this world. From lavish dances, to otherworldly foods, to obscure customs, all the way to their strange sense of humor, the inhabitants of this world are a little bonkers. This all sets up the underlying conspiracy of this movie which highlights the theme that ‘looks can be deceiving’, so in the end all the wackiness and showmanship of these extravagant people actually makes sense by the end of the film. At first I was a little taken back by the strangeness of it all, but as the film progressed I came to dig the overtly wacky angles of the piece and felt that it perfectly mirrored the feelings that the astronauts were having when introduced to this strange and unfamiliar group of beings. In the Dust of the Stars is a pretty damn bizarre film and I loved it!

In the Dust of the Stars really is an obscure wonder of a flick as it opens up with a rather traditional premise of a space crew responding to a distress call, only to then spin the narrative wildly out of control once we are introduced to the strange denizens of the planet. The unfamiliarity of the presentation works wonders alongside the already rare nature of an East Germany science fiction production. The combination of the two is a match made in heaven, forming into a cinematic world that surprisingly makes sense.

The entire cast does a spectacular job with the unusual style of the film with Jana Brejchova, Alfred Struwe, Ekkehard Schall, and Milan Beli giving some exceptionally memorable performances. There is also a great deal of attractive females in this film, if that just so happens to be your bag. All in all, the production has a stellar style to it that really doesn’t skimp on the wild nature of this new world and the unusual look of everything is top notch and absolutely decadent. I wasn’t expecting to see such an overtly weird film when first sitting down to view In the Dust of the Stars, but I’m highly satisfied by its ambitious nature and unorthodox approach to a tried and true storyline. If you’re looking for something that’s kind of out there and genuinely strange, then give this film a go. It’s definitely……

What the hell is that thing?

These knuckleheads all wore the same outfit to the party. How embarrassing!

Why so serious guys? Let's PARTY!

Damn you Ronk and your sly smile!

I'm just going to stand here and stare at your hotness.

Dance for us flyboy. DANCE!

Check out my super group... The Lame5.

My goodness, did you see what he was wearing? Blue hair with a blue sweater. How kitsch.

Akala isn't impressed by the many dance numbers the film has. What a grump.

Thob thinks this movie is A OK.

I'm not letting you out of there until you think about what you did.

Once you're done sulking, you can come out of your cage.

Looks like someone's not impressed with the leather vest.

This guy is a weirdo!

Oh Chief.... I can't stay mad at you.

The Chief starts a black metal band. Hail Satan!

Ronk doing the YMCA dance..... FABULOUS!

What a lonely way to end a movie.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

REVIEW: Dagon

Dagon
Director: Stuart Gordon
Year 2001

Dagon is a wonderfully strange horror film directed by Stuart Gordon and adapted from the H.P. Lovecraft short stories, Dagon and The Shadow Over Innsmouth. Crafted in gothic atmosphere and dripping with moody visual delights, this homage to Lovecraft is something of a special gem, bringing to life the outstandingly haunting writings of the legendary scribe while etching out its own unique style, filled with gore and a handful of disturbing moments. With a tendency towards the obscure, Stuart Gordon has manifested a macabre tale packed with so much mystery, wildly imagined creatures, and a mesmerizing cinematic lore, that you really have to witness the weirdness for yourself. You won’t be disappointed but you will be highly disturbed by its potent effects.

The film follows a young couple, Paul and Barbara, as they become stranded in a bizarre fishing village named Imboca after a freak storm forces them to abandon their boat. Feeling like a fish out of water, the two explore the odd village only to come to the horrible realization that the denizens of this town are followers of an ancient sea god named Dagon, and to make matters more bizarre their intermingling with this god have transformed them into horribly disfigured creatures. The deformed citizens of Imboca descend upon the couple, ripping them apart in an attempt to strip the skin from their bones in order to use it to cover their hideous deformities. As horrible as this is, Paul comes to realize a more ghastly truth, that he may have ties to this monstrous cult. Can the two lovers survive this nightmare or will they be permanent residents of the vengeful god Dagon and his half-human followers? Damn you Dagon! Damn you to hell!

Ezra Godden plays the role of Paul Marsh, the male half of the monster plagued couple. The character of Paul is a tricky one, because he comes off as a goof for most of the picture, but gradually begins to grow a pair as the film moves along and he is forced to defend himself and save the woman that he cares about. It’s not that different of a role from most any horror hero that we’ve seen before, but it is the execution of that character’s personality by Ezra that makes him stand out a bit from the bunch. It’s understandable that he is taken aback by all of the monstrous things that he sees in this film and he manages to escape his pursuers in each situation, but he does it in such a clumsy manner that it comes off as more of a series of slapstick moments than anything else. Strangely enough, the unorthodox approach to his character seems to work, and Ezra’s performance comes off as feeling like a homage to such roles as Bruce Campbell’s Ash in The Evil Dead series or Jeffrey Combs’ Herbert West in the Re-Animator, which is not surprising because it is Stuart Gordon’s masterpiece. The combination of Ezra’s style of acting and Stuart Gordon’s silly yet horror driven direction, is a match made in heaven, and it’s this mixture that really gives Dagon its signature feel.

Raquel Merono plays the role of Barbara, the beautiful and feisty girlfriend of Paul. Although she often disappears for large moments at a time, she still leaves a lasting impression on the film and often gets right into the action when the time comes for it. Raquel gets put through the ringer in this film, much like her onscreen beau Ezra, and she’s given some pretty uncomfortable moments throughout the narrative that allow her to show off her acting chops when it comes to showcasing a person being terrified out of their damned mind. Plus Raquel has the misfortune, at least for her, to be subjected to a more revealing display of horror, ala the birthday suit torture scene near the end of the film. All in all, she may not be the most dynamic and expressive actress of her time, but she really throws herself into the role of Barbara, and comes out of the experience battered, bruised, and broken, just like every great horror vet should. I’ve also found her role in Brian Yuzna’s Beneath Still Waters to be another guilty pleasure of mine.

The two leads are wonderful in their respective roles, but there is one actress that literally steals the limelight of the film and runs with it as she hypnotizes the audience with her haunting allure and sensual depiction of a most jaded and confused character, and that would be Macarena Gomez as the eccentric Uxia Cambarro. It was Macarena’s first appearance in this film that really captured me when I first witnessed it many years ago. Her performance is simply enchanting, as she puts her heart and soul into the conflicted character of Uxia. You can see the pain in her eyes and the longing to be with Paul, so much so that it almost makes you uncomfortable to be witnessing such a powerful moment. Now I don’t want to be overenthusiastic about her performance, because the film really doesn’t aim to be some kind of dramatic revelation, but Macarena ups the stakes in her performance and in doing so, elevates the film into a whole other stratosphere when she comes onscreen. The only word that I can come up with is haunting. After seeing her in Dagon and then catching her energetic performance in Sexy Killer, she easily makes my list of top 10 enigmatic and mesmerizing actresses.

Comparative to Macarena’s exceptional acting, is the overall look of the film. The decision to film on location in this small fishing village is sheer brilliance. The rain drenched town is a character in itself, bringing enough brooding visuals and imposing overtones to make this film a juggernaut of atmospheric proportions. The tone is laid thick by these impressive locations and you really can’t deny the genuine pull that they generate when viewed through Stuart Gordon’s cinematic lens. With such a powerful locale, you need an equally immersive set of characters to fill up the scenery and Dagon is no slouch in that department. We’re treated to a plethora of disturbing monsters, all with their own unique deformities and mutations. The creatures are a wild smorgasbord of bizarre features containing slimy tentacles, razor sharp teeth, unsightly gills, and grotesque webbed feet. The effects team does an amazing job in bringing these horrid deformations to life, blending the citizens’ aquatic features with the look and feel of the water logged town to perfection, joining them into one big soaking cesspool of morbid oddities. It’s safe to say that this film is something of a unique blend, filled with Lovecraftian lore and Stuart Gordon style, and that is one awesome combination, plus it’s brutal as all hell. Count me in!

Dagon is a special little film that hits the ground running and never lets up until its climactic finale that really pushes the envelope on “what the fuck” moments. With an exceptional cast of unknown talent, the filmmakers were able to allow the unfamiliarity of their crew to enhance the overall lucid portrayal of a fishing town pulled from a nightmare. Ezra Godden, Raquel Merono, and Macarena Gomez do a commendable job with some rather heavy and demanding material, and each of them do what they can in order to keep the flow of the story moving. Macarena Gomez especially lights up the screen when she appears, giving the film a breath of fresh air that propels it to its miraculous conclusion.

The location of the seaside town is absolutely essential to the morbid feel of the movie and the overwhelmingly creepy look of the village is just too perfect for words. The locales just ooze Lovecraftian wonder, and I doubt the filmmakers could have found a more fitting place if they tried. The atmosphere and overall tone of Dagon is just impeccable, capturing the mystery of Lovecraft’s writings and presenting it in a vivid light that has never been seen on the cinematic screen before and most likely won’t for some time to come. I’m always swept away by this creepy tale of fish people who worship an unruly sea god named Dagon, and I never can get used to the hypnotizing allure of Macarena Gomez and her cult of sea creatures. Check out this obscure wonder as soon as you can. Dagon is an…..