Sorry about the lack of new stuff

Two weeks into a ten week contract. In an office, doing things at a desk. Not feeling too much like doing blog stuff, not enough time somehow. Hopefully I will find the brain power to post some more before 10 weeks is up.

Currently reading A History of the Guillotine by Alister Kershaw. The writing style is a bit too arch for my liking. I'm not sure if 'arch' is the right term actually. Maybe it's just a bit smarty-snarky-sarcastic or something. Anyway, there's lots of interesting facts in it; like the big debate they had in the 19th century about whether a decapitated head continued to be conscious for any length of time. Grisly stuff. Nice cover.

Deadly Class (Image Comics)

Just finished volume 5 of this ongoing series from Image, and I'm already looking forward to volume 6. I bought the first volume as a physical TPB, and took ages to getting around to reading it. After I did I got the next 4 volumes on that Comixology thing. Yes, digital comics. Comics that light up from behind, and move from panel to panel, adding a dimension of movement that often enhances the dynamics of the page. I much prefer physical comics, but there's only so much space in the house, and many modern comics work really well on an iPad.

Deadly Class is simple enough in its concept; it's Hogwarts with murder, instead of magic. Sons and daughters of the Mafia, Yakuza, KGB, CIA, Triads, et al are sent here to carry on the family business of assassination, betrayal, torture and manipulation. Just like the School for Wizards, the pupils are a mix of those from a 'killing' background, and others who have come from bad homes or have been victim to a series of unfortunate events. Just like any other high school story, there are cliques, which read out like a homicidal Breakfast Club: The Preps (CIA/FBI), Dixie Mob (Southern racists), Soto Vatus (South American drug cartels), Jersey Kings (New Jersey Atlantic City gangs), Final World Order (South Central LA gangbangers),  and the Koroki Syndicate (Yakuza). There are also those who don't fit in, and they form an unlikely and unstable alliance. Thing is, you can't trust anyone. Just like normal school.

The action is set in San Fran in the late 80s, and the main character is Marcus Lopez Arguello, a Nicaraguan refugee who was orphaned when his parents were killed by a suicidal woman jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Living on the streets, drifting in and out of petty crime, he is eventually pulled into the world of Kings Dominion, School of the Deadly Arts. This school of death was founded in 1637, and is hidden deep beneath the streets of the city; its motto In vivat mortem (Long Live Death). Classes include Assassin Psychology, Poison, Hand-to-hand Combat and so on. You get the picture.

The concept is simple, but what makes Deadly Class really work is the things that make any good comic work. Good dialogue, good art, good characters and a good story. The story never stops throwing curve balls, some of them the size of Halley's Comet. There's plenty of great characters here, mostly drawn with a broad, cinematic brush; from Samurai-sword wielding tattooed punk Saya, to the deformed redneck Chester, who loves dogs a little too much; from the sinister Master Lin, who runs the school like a Yoda from the Dark Side, to Goth princess Petra, an expert in DIY chemical weapons, whose parents joined a death cult. Rick Remender and Wes Craig pull in every violent pulp movie culture trope going, and then make up a few of their own. The story is a catalogue of betrayal, mayhem, murder, and just 'getting through high school.' Wes Craig's art is superb, both detailed and dynamic, full of movement and action, as well as grace and drama.

Deadly Class is great comics, and maybe it'll make great TV, if the people making it ever get done.

The Invitation (2015)

This was #665 on Chris Good Goodwin's list of the top 666 horror movies of all time. A film I'd never even heard of before, I came to this movie cold, which is something I always like. The less you know the more you gain is usually the case with books or movies, in my opinion. I won't say much about this film, as I think if you choose to watch it you'd be best knowing less rather than more. I will say a few things though:

1 The direction and cinematography are superb. The director Karyn Kusama has been responsible for a couple of films which I haven't seen, but are quite widely regarded as turkeys: Æon Flux (2005) and Jennifer's Body (2009). These have earned a 5.5 and a 5.1 on imdb respectively. The Invitation has a 6.7, so things are improving for Karyn. The film has a beautiful, rich look, full of amber and warm tones, the colours of comfort and warm hospitality. Everything seems safe; as one of the posters says "There is nothing to be afraid of." Yeah, but this is on a horror movie list, so you won't be convinced.

Marshall Logan-Green as Will

2: The acting is also very good. The lead is played by Logan Marshall-Green, who bears a close resemblance to Tom Hardy, but softer and more American. In this movie he looks like a kind of hipster Jesus. You may have seen him in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Prometheus (2012) or The O.C. (2005) Other actors worth mentioning are Michael Huisman, who I don't remember seeing before but is apparently in Game of Thrones, Nashville and Orphan Black; Tammy Blanchard who played a young Judy Garland back in 2001, which makes perfect sense when you see her; Emayatzy Corinealdi as Will's level-headed girlfriend; John Carroll Lynch, who you've seen a thousand times before playing a cop or a small-time gangster; and Lindsay Burdge who plays a character who seems to have come straight from the Spahn Ranch.

3: The foreboding is strong. Very very strong.

4: The ending is chilling.

You should watch this; that's all I've got really. Enjoy.

Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here. Wipe Your Feet.

Blood Link (1982)

In the last couple of years I've gone off Facebook quite a bit, for a number of reasons, and devoted a lot more of my time and energy to Instagram. (@jimbobarker and @allthebooksandcomics, if you're interested) Recently I started following one account called @top666horrormovies. This account is run by Canadian film-maker Chris Good Goodwin, who has produced a number of horror shorts and unusual documentaries. Chris has put a lot of work and thought into this list of the top 666 horror movies, and as I'm a bit of a horror fan I thought I'd task myself with watching all the films from #666 down to the as-yet-undisclosed #1. Scrolling through the list, looking at the journey I will take, I see a mix of titles I know well, many I've heard of but never seen, and still others which are new to me. It's going to be one helluva ride.

The first movie, #666, is this little-known 1982 psychological suspense serial killer film, which stars Larry Cohen favourite Michael Moriarty, an intriguing actor who looks like an ordinary guy, but has a good-sized slice of menace; equally at home playing a callous sociopath or a bewildered underdog. In Blood Link he gets to do both.

Michael Moriarty as Dr Craig Mannings, the good twin

Dr Craig Mannings, a mild-mannered research psychiatrist starts to have visions of murder, in which he is the killer. At first Craig assumes he is having nightmares, and we initially assume that this may be a movie about a schizophrenic killer, but soon we learn that Craig is actually one of Siamese twins, with the callous Keith making the other half of the equation. Moriarty really makes the most of playing Keith, wallowing in a decadent caricature that comes across as a kind of swaggering Nazi officer, with his long leather coat and nonchalant cruelty. This image is enlarged by the setting for the majority of the film: Berlin. I'm a sucker for anything shot in Berlin, just needed to say that.

Michael Moriarty as Keith Manning, the evil twin

Craig is shocked to learn that his twin is alive, as he hasn't seen him since they were both orphaned as children, but these visions, brought on by experiments in what looks like electro-shock acupuncture, demonstrate that the evil twin lives, and that the brothers have a psychic connection. Craig traces Keith to Berlin, where the police start to ask questions. After all, Craig looks just like someone who's wanted for a number of murders. Craig has trouble convincing the police that Keith even exists, especially when evil twin goes to the trouble of killing anyone who's seen them together. Keith is one of the nastiest characters I've seen in a movie, playing on the resemblance to his twin to do dreadful things, especially to the female characters.

Penelope Milford as Julie Warren

Although Moriarty gives two great performances in Blood Link, the movie is also raised up by the supporting cast. Craig's girlfriend/assistant Julie is played by Penelope Milford, who is probably best known as the guidance counselor in Heathers (1988). Milford's character is tough, sexy, brave, funny and caring. She also takes an enormous risk to help catch a killer, but let's not say too much. Also worth mentioning are Sarah Langenfeld, the daughter of one of Keith's victims, who finds herself falling for Craig; and cameos by Cameron Mitchell and Virginia McKenna.

Christine Waldo (Sarah Langenfeld) & Keith Manning (Michael Moriarty)

All told, this is a neat thriller, with some very uncomfortable scenes, a high tension level, some great shots of 1980s Berlin, and a plot that is anything but predictable. A good start for my journey of 666 movies.

 

Trailer (in German, naturlich) Warning: contains nude ladies