DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK: Deliciously Outrageous!

My wife Sue is now a regular columnist for FANGORIA, writing “Furious Femmes” every month, a column about women who make horror movies.  And of course Sue has been interviewing many of the women filmmakers and getting copies of their movies.   

Vancouver twins Jen and Sylvia Soska have made their debuting feature DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK and it is total bliss cinema.  This film reminds me a great deal of the early, gonzo John Waters productions (during his PINK FLAMINGOS and FEMALE TROUBLE period), except the Soska film has better acting.  Every character is a stereotype (called Junkie, Geek, Badass, Goody Two Shoes) and the performances are either gritty/tough or wistful/tender, but every performance seems committed and real.  We believe in these rejects and ultimately come to care about them, as difficult as that may seem.  In this production, everyone rolls up his or her sleeves and pitches in.  Jen and Sylvia Soska star, write and direct and many of the other cast members (particularly C.J. Wallis) perform multiple duties.  And they all do wonderful jobs.

What I like is that this is a movie that could only have been made by young artists.  And I say this not because most of the cast is young, the action occurring at punk rock clubs and places where young folks frequent, and the musical score consists of buzz-sawing metal and punk rock.  Old farts could film young performers at a club and use a blaring rock score.  That’s not the point. But the film is filled to the brim with youthful enthusiasm, brashness, audacity and the Soska sisters do stuff that might seem silly or illogical in the hands of more seasoned professionals.  But they pull it off!  And who but the young would put themselves so far out there!

For instance, what mainstream or even cookie-cutter B production today would include the following sequence of events?  Geek (Jen Soska) is attacked from behind, pushed forward hard which knocks one of her eyes from the socket.  Her attacker bends down over her to make sure the eye is gone (it lies in a bloody heap to her side).  Geek picks herself up and holds her hand over her eye socket as blood flows down her hand and arm.  Soon she is declaring to her friends, calmly, all she needs are a few supplies, including two pieces of crisscrossing black tape to cover her eye socket, to fix her up.  In another sequence Junkie, who is nursing a slashed arm from a recent attack, is waving her arms while ranting, standing out in the street, when an 18-wheeler speeds past her ripping her wounded arm off.  Picking up the severed arm, her friends use tape and a needle and thread to reattach the arm, at least long enough to get Junkie to the hospital (which eventually occurs only after she drives herself to the emergency ward). Get the picture, outrageous stuff occurs at any moment and such cartoon violence is played straight.  Yet in another sequence, the one that explains how the hooker got to be dead before being stuffed into a car trunk, we watch as the killer brutally beats and then prepares to rape the hooker.  Such a sequence is difficult to watch and demonstrates how ultra-violence against women is one of the major themes of Soska cinema.  But we have such ping-ponging changes in tone, between goofy gore and violence and savage, disturbing female abuse.  But such diverse shifts prove to be interesting.

We have a constant barrage of running gags and homages to other movies thrown in for good measure.  For instance Badass (Sylvia Soska) is the one who is never wounded or hurt, while others around her lose their eyes, arms and Goody Two Shoes (C.J. Wallis), the Jesus freak who runs a church youth group, constantly bends over and vomits whenever the going gets tough.  So it is shocking, near the end of the film, when Badass returns to her apartment and is surprised by the killer-who-wears-a-hood who brutally punches her unconscious and subdues her by placing a plastic bag over her head.  When she awakens from this brutal attack, she recognizes her attacker immediately, a character we remember from earlier in the movie.  But just when we are lead to believe that Badass is indestructible, we now see her as vulnerable.  But earlier, in what I consider homage to Sam Raimi’s EVIL DEAD, we have Badass shoot the man who just disemboweled a drug dealer, his attacker slicing through his stomach and fondling his bleeding and now exposed intestines.  To put the pathetic dying man out of his misery, Badass thrusts her gun directly near the camera as we focus on her face.  We never see the man she shoots; instead, we hear the gun explode and see blood spattered all over her face in a quick instant.  This reminds me of similar sequences in EVIL DEAD where Ash (Bruce Campbell) has blood spattered all over his face.

Lastly, what I admire most about DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK is the manner by which the Soska sisters tell their story visually, opening the movie with a gonzo tracking shot that introduces both characters and the action with a minimum amount of dialogue for roughly the film’s first 10 minutes.  The movie opens as a girl arrives at the punk rock club in her car, jumping out of the car and running up the stairs to the club.  In an intimate surrounding, we see Junkie scream her little punk heart out as important characters either dance, speak in the shadows or walk past as we pan left or right.  We see a brief glimpse of the hooded killer, we see the strangely alive hooker wearing the red dress with side slits who will soon be dead (and the Soska sisters include a quick shot forward in time showing the hooker with a bloody punched face before we cut back to show her now smiling), we see the frightening Cowboy Pimp and other characters who only become important as the movie pushes ahead.  But with the blaring musical score, the quick cuts, stationary camera work alongside hand-held jerkiness, the movie impresses with a dramatic and totally visual (and auditory) introduction.  Fortunately this is only one of many “money” shots spread throughout the movie.

Yes, if we wanted to focus on flaws we could find them.  Hey, this is independent filmmaking at its most raw level.  DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK is more a labor of love emphasizing the joy of expression than it could ever be considered a commercial venture.  The Soska sisters, if they continue to hone their technique, will only make bigger and hopefully better movies.  Just as “Silent Bob” rose from independent to mainstream cinema, I hope to see the characters of Geek, Badass and Goody Two Shoes develop in future Soska movies. But for a debut, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK is a film that lingers long after the music fades away and the credits fade to black.  This is a movie to seek out and enjoy, warts and all. 

BORDERS CLOSES ITS DOORS: Is The Death of the Brick and Mortar Book/Music Store Upon Us?

I love bookstores almost as much as I love music stores.  Growing up I would often take a bus downtown (about a 45 minute ride) to go to General Records, an infamous downtown record store that carried all the albums and 45-rpm singles that mainstream record stores never carried.  I purchased albums such as the Jeff Beck Group’s TRUTH and THE ROD STEWART ALBUM, when Rod-the-Mod was a degenerate rocker, even before The Faces reformed around him. Most of the time I did not know what was newly released, so going through the vinyl bins made discovery exciting.

The same was true with bookstores.  I would gravitate to the magazine section or the movie or music book sections.  I even checked out some fiction.  But the anticipation of finding something fresh and original fueled my journeys.  And it was a tactile, hands-on experience!

But in those days that was the only way to find books, music and magazines. 

I have to admit when the Internet began to publish the release dates of upcoming music CDs and books, the discovery aspect of going to brick and mortal shops was greatly diminished.  Why take the time and spend the gas to travel a great distance to perhaps find something I wanted when the purchase of that specific book or record was one click way at home?  Also, for most Internet sales you may pay shipping but mostly you never paid sales tax.  And you save on gas and time.  There’s never enough time!

True, it never has been quite as much fun searching out books, magazines and CDs/downloads online as it was venturing to overstuffed and crowded shops with other fans that loved what you loved, intermingling with knowledgeable, enthusiastic salespeople (who usually were fans themselves).  But searching online or in person is still searching (and think how easy it has become to sample the first few pages of a potential book buy or how convenient to hear sound samples of new albums, privately, online).

The bottom line is this.  The way people read and listen to music today has changed, so the manner in which we browse, sample and buy has also changed.  As electronic gadgets such as the iPod, iPad, Smartphone and other devices steal shelf space formerly devoted to books and CDs, shopping online has become more and more important and, dare I say, necessary.

For instance my friend Paul Krueger does not own a computer, and by the time he gave up trying to find the newly released Blu-ray of THE EGYPTIAN in brick and mortal stores, the movie was out of print (it was limited to 3,000 copies).  For those of us who shop the Internet (and especially Amazon.com with their PRIME shipping and free download of DVDs), we can buy literally any movie, magazine or book that is in print, no matter how small its niche market or limited edition it may be.  EVERYTHING out there, even self-published or home garage record label releases, can be purchased, and most at very affordable, discounted prices.

Right now The Criterion Collection DVD/Blu-ray movies are 50% off list price at Barnes & Noble.  Of course I can drive to the nearest one, fight the traffic, spend the gas and walk a long distance to perhaps find that the movie I wanted to buy was not carried at this particular store or simply sold out.  Or I can access Barnes & Noble online, search out any movie I want to buy, even the ones that are temporarily out of stock, and have them delivered to my home at the 50% discount.

Perhaps I am getting old, but the convenience and sampling of unlimited titles is more and more appealing.  The fact that books and music are always sale priced and I never buy any book or CD/music download at list price is also very appealing.  And with Amazon.com Prime I pay $80 a year but get most everything shipped guaranteed second day shipping.  I can’t do better than that!  I make that $80 back by the third month and then ride the free wave the remainder of the year.

I always hated going to Best Buy on the Tuesday that a new DVD was released.  The major blockbuster titles were always there.  But sometimes when an older release came out, a so-called classic, the salesperson would check the shelf and say, wait, we may have copies “in back.”  Most times he would return empty-handed and state, sorry, it will most likely be on the truck Thursday, if not, it will definitely be here next week, or guaranteed the following week.  And of course I was expected to constantly be driving back to see if the film that should now be in my sweaty hands had arrived.  Of course the store only ordered 5 copies at most, so unless I got there early upon arrival, that title might sell out for good. Why waste time and energy!! I order the movie from my computer today and have it in my anxious hands in two days (or one day if I am lucky, which frequently occurs).

I admit I am sad when brick and mortal shops close.  I have fond memories of going to my favorite book and record shops over the years, and often I remember buying a specific Bob Dylan album at a specific store at a special time of the year.  But I also mourned the passing of the milkman delivering milk and juice to the front door.  I mourned the loss of going to the soda shop to buy freshly made sodas and milkshakes.  I mourned the loss of deejay-controlled radio stations. I mourned the passing of those fresh produce carts pulled by horses in the city where salesmen (here in Baltimore they were called “Arabbers” with an accent on the “A”) would yell out their stock and trade as they crept down the block.  And yes, I mourned the loss of the neighborhood ice cream man whose jingle-jangle merry melodies would beckon all the kids in the neighborhood outside on a warm summer night.  I mourned and continue to mourn all of that.  But change is inevitable and sometimes even for the best.

Anyway we look at it, we can still buy ice cream, milk, produce, books, magazines and music.  We just have to adapt to new ways of purchasing the old familiar.  And I won’t even talk about reading books on my Kindle or walking Buddy down the street listening to music on my iPod Classic.  That’s a story for another time.

STELLAR QUASAR AND THE SCROLLS OF DADELIAN begins filming at MONSTER BASH

Welcome Back to the NEW and REVISED Gary J. Svehla’s Blog for Midnight Marquee and Mad About Movies.  Instead of using our website to update the Blog, we have decided to use Blogger from Google which makes updates faster and easier, and it creates a better visual sense.  We have included Archives (from 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010) of every Blog we ever posted and each year’s Blogs are one click away.  The Blogs for 2011 are current and I even added a new Best DVDS of 2010 posting.  Hopefully, I will be able to Blog more frequently.  Please enjoy my rants and raves and comments may be sent to midmargary@verizon.net.   

Besides accessing this blog from our website

http://www.midmar.com and clicking on the "Gary's Blog" link,

you can also access the blog at the following URL

http://midnightmarqueeblog.blogspot.com

 

Cult Star Icons Veronica Carlson and Caroline Munro as the Oracles

MONSTER BASH is the only current classic horror film convention operating, and Sue and I (and our dog Buddy) traveled to Butler, PA to socialize with friends such as Nancy and Dick Klemensen, Steve Vertlieb, Wes Shank and wife Judy, Robert Tinnell and many others. Many attendees asked to be photographed with Buddy, and children were most concerned when we appeared on the convention floor without our companion.

Our third feature film, tentatively titled STELLAR QUASAR, goes into full production at the end of the month.  Unlike TERROR IN THE TROPICS and TERROR IN THE PHARAOH'S TOMB, STELLAR QUASAR is a science fiction "quest" movie with tons of green screen photography and digital special effects.  Sue, who wrote the screenplay and is directing once again, loves science fiction movies and this is the film she seems most jazzed about.

To beef up interest and to honor our cinematic heroes, we knew that former FANEX guests Veronica Carlson and Caroline Munro would be appearing at the BASH.  Working with another friend and sponsor Kevin Flynn, we arranged for the ladies to play outer space Oracles that deliver the biting message at the climax of the movie.  Hiring a student crew headed by Robert Tinnell, their film school teacher and director of the movie FRANKENSTEIN AND ME, the sequences were shot by Nicholas Carrington with assistance from Jason Walker.  Tinnell offered Sue technical advice while she directed.  It was a virtual lovefest!

 Our lovely ladies wore intensely colorful and sparkling costumes, designed by Sue for the sequence, and after setting up the portable green screen, the filming commenced as the professional attributes of Carlson and Munro blazed through.  Their expressions, movement and line readings were impeccable.  And remember, we were filming in a hotel room under compromised circumstances.  But our actresses did themselves proud and we felt honored and blessed by their participation in our modest production.

The very next day Sue and I met our friends Wes Shank and Judy, owners of the original Blob, and Wes graciously invited a small crew to come up to his home museum later in the summer to film a few sequences.  These sequences will focus upon several of his actual movie props to add class, history and budget to the production.

So even before the actual production begins, we are finding success and help in many different ways, from so many friends.  As the shooting begins, we will be posting photos and the latest reports.

Richard Klemensen, Steven Thornton; Buddy; and Gary J. Svehla at the Bash