The Edge

The following very short story is connected to a short story I wrote in November 2016, a month before losing a chunk of my vision...

The Now

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-now.html 

    He stands alone on the edge of the world.  He had traveled through the fog, losing more than his companion along the way.  Externally battered and bruised from the journey, he collapses onto the barren ground.  Internally drained of hope and desire, he whispers into the emptiness surrounding him. 

    "Where does one go when there is nowhere left to go?"  

    The question drifts through the hollow air, fading away into nothing. 

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.

Freak Out, 

JLH

P.S.  A different very short story... 

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2019/08/in-shadows-very-short-story.html 

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A Post-Modern Gothic Romance...

DARK EXCURSIONS

The Internationally-known* Bestseller** is still available to amuse, intrigue and shock!

myBook.to/DarkExcursions 

*by some Americans & a few Europeans 

**compared to my other titles

freakboy on film: SCREAM 4 (2011)

"Well, sick is the new sane." - Jill Roberts 

                        2011

      written by Kevin Williamson 

          directed by Wes Craven 

~SPOILERS AHEAD~

I originally planned a 4 in 1 SCREAM franchise post.  I would have praised the brilliance of SCREAM (1996) where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) & friends are being hunted by a masked killer as they dissect the intricacies of horror films.  I would have went on to say that SCREAM 2 (1997) has some good moments, despite pacing problems and one too many familiar faces.  I would then have to admit SCREAM 3 (2000) is a bit of a mess, but how I enjoy Parker Posey and a clever cameo from Carrie Fisher so much that I forgive a lot of its deficiencies.  Finally, to top it all off, I would have complained about SCREAM 4.  Instead, I decided to devote a whole post to this final misfire, not that it really deserves it. 

I was stoked to see SCREAM 4.  Everything I read sounded promising.  Wes Craven was once again directing and Kevin Williamson was back as the screenplay writer.  The latter was noticeably absent for the third installment.  If my memory serves me well, I read that SCREAM 4 was going to kick off a new trilogy, and maybe that's why I get so irritated with it.  

SCREAM 4 had so much potential to be nearly as brilliant as the first SCREAM, but there are very specific aspects that keep it from achieving all that it could have been.  To keep my emotional filmic mind in order, I could go on long-winded tangents, I am going to attempt to focus on the three reasons why SCREAM 4 is so frustrating to me..

1.) The Gay Rule...

In SCREAM, a film geek named Randy gave us the rules to successfully survive a horror film.  They were clever, funny and made sense when looking back at the genre, especially slasher flicks.  In SCREAM 4, two film geeks (Erik Knudsen & Rory Culkin) give us a new rule for a new decade.  The only way to survive a modern horror film is to be gay.  Maybe this would be clever or amusing if there was more of a history of openly gay characters in horror films.  Much like black characters surviving the killer, gay characters are a rare commodity in the genre.  So, the rule comes off as a joke that might have been cool and edgy in the 1990's but is just backwards in the 21st Century.  Even more so when one of the film geeks claims to be gay, if it helps, before being killed.  That ill-timed jokey moment emphasizes my next reason for frustration... 

Please kill them, Ghostface, they don't deserve to be in any future reboots! 

2.) Bruce Willis...

I recall watching an interview with Wes Craven, many years before SCREAM 4, about the challenges of balancing humor and horror.  He explained you have to keep the two opposing components separate or risk becoming a parody.  In other words, you can make a joke before or after a killing, but never during a character's death.  After two police officers discuss the only way for a cop to survive in the movies is to be Bruce Willis, both officers are killed, but it's one that annoys me.  The killer has stabbed one cop (Anthony Anderson) in the head.  In a disturbing scene, with a perfectly ominous music score, the killer simply watches the cop slowly die...but...the horror is ruined by a joke.  Right before his last breath, the officer says, "F*** Bruce Willis."  So, at this point SCREAM 4 becomes part of the SCARY MOVIE parody franchise.

No joke.

3.) The Ending...

Maybe, just maybe, I could forgive those two grievances if the ending had ended differently.  Don't get me wrong, I love-love-love the main killer is revealed  to be Sidney Prescott's cousin Jill (a brilliant Emma Roberts).  I also love her motive.  Jill grew up in the shadow of Sidney's notoriety of surviving three rounds of serial killings and now she wants the spotlight.  In this era of becoming internet famous without really doing anything, it's a wickedly clever twist.  Jill has killed her accomplice, her friends and her own mother, and it appears she has killed Sidney.  Oh, but no.  Sidney is alive and she, along with Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale (Courteney Cox), once again stops the killer dead.  I recall leaving the theater thinking how I had already seen this film three times before.  If Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson had really wanted to reboot this franchise for another trilogy, SCREAM 4 should've ended with Jill killing Sidney, therefore successfully becoming the survivor girl by being the killer.  This would have set up a fresh scenario for the next installment and made the final line of the film that much more profound.  

"An American hero, right out of the movies." - a news reporter waxes poetic about Jill, unaware she was the killer and that Sidney & friends have killed her and the film franchise. 

They call me Jill. 
 Ms. Ghostface, if you’re psycho.

In conclusion, I don't completely hate SCREAM 4.  I just wish it would've truly had the guts to go beyond what audiences had seen in the first three films.

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words. 

Freak Out,

JLH 

P.S. An old post where I take a trip through a different horror franchise...

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2019/05/freakboy-on-film-phantasm-5-film.html

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My books & blogs... 

http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html 

freakboy on film: PHANTASM (a 5 film freakathon)

If this one doesn't scare you...

...you're already dead. 

20 YEARS AGO...

I originally experienced PHANTASM on VHS, recorded from late night cable.  I watched it more than a few times over the years and I knew of at least one sequel, but the opportunity to watch the second one, or the others, never occurred until...

2019...

I was stumbling around Wal-Mart, my Mad Scientist Glasses in tow so I could browse the dwindling, but surprisingly eclectic DVD selection.  There was all 5 PHANTASM films in one collection.  I hesitated at first because sequels to classic horror films can really suck sometimes, but I ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of The Tall Man and his deadly balls. 

PHANTASM (1979)

The first is the best. The sinister Tall Man has gruesome plans for the recently deceased and it's up to brothers Mike and Jody, along with Reggie, an ice cream vendor, to stop him.  This film is atmospheric with its dream within a dream reality.  It's unsettling in a gets under your mind-skin way.  It's downright scary, especially Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man.  He exudes pure evil with just a glance.  The bug scene also totally freaks me out!  Putting all of that aside, the main reason PHANTASM drew me in was the relationship between brothers Jody and Mike.  It's the heart of this horror-fantasy film. 

Jody, Reggie & Mike 

PHANTASM II (1988)

My gut reaction to this first sequel was it was good but not great.  The first PHANTASM, in my opinion, must have inspired Wes Craven a few years later with A Nightmare on Elm Street.  Both films deal with similar themes of reality versus dreams, but each in their individual ways.  PHANTASM II feels like it takes more than a little detour through Elm Street in certain plot elements and especially in visual style.  The reason may partially fall on Universal Studios wanting a horror-fantasy franchise to compete with New Line Cinema's Nightmare juggernaut.  Also, it's a shame A. Michael Baldwin didn't reprise the role of Mike.  James Le Gros is acceptable but not the same.  All of that aside, the scene of Reggie and Mike walking through the emptied cemetery is disturbing and haunting. 

PHANTASM III: LORD OF THE DEAD (1994)

I typically dread it when a horror film franchise attempts to answer questions and add new characters, especially a kid.  I know -I know, Mike was a kid in the first one, but I was terrified that newbie Tim would be the Cousin Oliver to Mike's all grown up Peter Brady.  Thankfully, I was wrong.  Tim is great and brings out Reggie's good qualities.  Plus, Rocky, the baddest bad-ass woman in any horror franchise, is a welcome addition to the predominately white, male cast.  As for a particularly revealing answer about the killer, silver spheres, it made complete sense and elevated the stakes.  

SPOILER: I was bummed Rocky left at the end, but I was thrilled she survived!  

Rocky and Reg

PHANTASM: OBLIVION (1998)

As much as I enjoyed III, this one may be my favorite PHANTASM sequel.  The fourth film is an utter mind...um...screw in the best way possible, which makes it close to capturing the eerie dream within a dream quality of the first film.  The plot takes what we think we know, flips and turns it around in our minds, and transforms it into a personal journey for the characters and the viewers. Plus, that quiet ending, so unlike the first three films, left me meditative, contemplative and forgetting to breathe for a moment.  I think I would be strangely fine if IV had been the final PHANTASM.

PHANTASM: RAVAGER (2016)

Here's the truth.  I was disappointed, but not completely.  Perhaps some of my disappointment is because writer/director Don Coscarelli stepped down from the director's chair and collaborated on the script with new director David Hartman.  Can V truly be called pure PHANTASM?  I don't know, but I did enjoy Reggie's mind-trip through different realities, especially the reality where it seems like Reg is in a rest home/psychiatric hospital.  It's the future (real?) reality that kind of disappoints me. It doesn't feel like PHANTASM to me.  It's bigger, even the killer, silver spheres come in extra-large, and it's computer special effects heavy.  Plus, and this is probably my biggest complaint, it's neither Reg nor Mike who once again defeats The Tall Man.  Chunk, an admittedly great new character, gets to do the honor, which was a let down because this appears to be the final PHANTASM since Angus Scrimm has now passed away.  I guess I was hoping for a more personal conclusion.  All my grievances aside, the very final scene made me geek out with unbridled glee because (SPOILER) Rocky turns up, still a bad-ass, and rides off with our heroes to fight another day.

Extra Large 

IN CONCLUSION...

The PHANTASM series may have some ups, downs and all arounds, but the sequels were worth watching, albeit 20 years later.  One overall aspect that is also worth experiencing is the evolution of Reggie from an ice cream vendor to a middle-aged action hero.  It's a revolutionary transformation for any film franchise, horror or otherwise.

Now it's time to watch all 5 films again, this time with commentaries on! 

"You play a good game, Boy, but the game is finished.  

Now you die."  

- The Tall Man 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S.  Coming next month...

The Second Great Hammer And Amicus Blogathon!

Hosted by...

Cinematic Catharsis 

http://cinematiccatharsis.blogspot.com/ 

and 

Realweegiemidget Reviews 

https://weegiemidget.wordpress.com/ 

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My books & blogs...

https://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html