Anaal Nathrakh's, 'The Codex Necro'

So this week I’ve been listening to a lot of technical death metal, black metal and extreme noise metal, more so than usual. This album caught my interest, and after doing a bit of research, turns out it’s considered a more recent masterpiece in the genre by many, which is no surprise. Of course, by nature this brand of metal is intense, frenzied and aggressive, but this one hit me a little harder than most. It feels more serious, more accomplished, and all this without knowledge of the lyrics. (They apparently do not publish their lyrics). The songs are wildly inventive brutal attacks, with only a couple tracks missing the mark with me. I can’t help but think of the Tasmanian Devil cartoon while listening to this, cyclonic and heartlessly destructive. All the riffs feel like they’re spinning out of control, shifting at blinding speed, pulverizing the listener, keeping him constantly off balance. Pure sonic frenzy for frenzy’s sake. This band accomplishes what Slipknot in their wildest dreams wishes they could accomplish.

The Howling (1981)

Not being a huge fan of ‘the big three’ creatures of horror, werewolves, vampires, zombies, I did at least enjoy this film. The story is simple; there is nothing at all unpredictable about the plot. And it all develops quickly, perhaps too quickly, which comes off as clunky in parts. The special effects were decent, but since I’m simply not all that awed by special effects in horror movies, I felt the transformation scenes were the least interesting aspect of the movie. Yeah, yeah, develop that wolfish snout already, I’m getting bored…

Another weakness I thought is the theme of the ‘old ways’ vs. the Colony’s attempt to ‘tame’ the werewolf instinct toward violence wasn’t fully explored. Could of been a deeper, more resonating film, but instead they went for the cotton candy, please the masses approach. Was rather surprised to see John Sayles in the screenplay credits– but a writing gig is a writing gig I suppose. This movie didn’t wow me like a horror cult classic should, but I liked it nevertheless. The tongue-in-cheek ending and the constant wolf references gave it a self-referential charm as well. Dee Wallace was cute and captivating throughout. 2.5 stars.

Basket Case (1982)

Honestly, off the top of my head I can’t think of a better way to spend 35, 000 1982 US dollars. Making an intentionally bad movie, with stop-action animation and a really ridiculous monster called Belial and some of the worst acting ever put on screen. I can see Frank Henenlotter actually saying to his actors, ‘You performed that scene too well… try to make it shittier.’

But, having said that, the film has a certain charm to it. And I think a lot of it has to do with the director simply having way too much fun, not taking ANYTHING AT ALL in the film too seriously, and lampooning New Yorkers, doctors, ghetto hotel dwellers, receptionists, everyone. A kind of admirable laziness runs throughout the dialogue, as if the director knew all too well a line was atrocious, but left it in there anyway, just to mess with people. A mindless, fun 90 minutes. 3 stars.

The Wicker Man

This has been called the ‘Citizen Kane’ of horror films, and I can’t argue with that. Since I first watched it maybe ten years ago, it has remained at the very top of my short list of all-time favorite Horror movies. And after watching it again recently, its power, strangeness, and novelty still hold. Written by the screenwriter who also wrote, ‘Sleuth’, that ingenious and complex exercise in cruel mind games, Anthony Shaffer delivers here a somewhat less complex game-like script, but vastly more cruel. It is, in my opinion, one of the cruelest films ever made, at least by a major studio. Edward Woodward’s excellent performance as Sgt. Howie only heightens this aspect. You can literally feel his spirit deflate on screen at the end when he finally realizes he’s the hunted, and not the hunter, that he really is, as it turns out, The Fool. That he is not only to be sacrificed to the cult’s sun god inside that abominable Wicker Man, but has been mind-fucked for the sheer fun of it by them as well. Almost every move Sgt. Howie makes has been calculated ahead of time by the sinister and playful pagan cult. He is a dead seal in a game of ‘seal toss’ for a pod of Killer Whales.

Beautifully directed, masterfully scored– it really is one of the oddest musicals in cinema history, complete with catchy Celtic tunes– and intelligently written all equal: one disturbing but also quite fun horror film.

Be sure to check out the extras on the Anchor Bay release. The background information on the film is pretty interesting stuff. Apparently Edward Woodward actually had goat urine rain down on him in his scene inside the Wicker Man. A fun fact.