Filmhounds Magazine October2020 (Sample)

back to the future 35th anniversary

filmhounds.co.uk

Lucy Brydon

on ‘body of water’

Chadwick boseman death of an icon

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The Female Revolution of Horror star of ‘host’ jemma moore the batman beetlejuice

Bond is

back

october 2020

620923

: d a e h r e s era a cinematic k c a t t a c i n pa

issue 2 - october 2020

the new

Masters of

Horror

Nick Frost & Samson Kayo discuss truth seekers

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welcome from the editors ith the unfortunate delays in releases stacking up it just means we have more to look forward to next year (positive spin!) and a chance to look back at some of the classics that we all love. This issue includes a look classics including the 35th Anniversary of Back to the Future, a look at Beetlejuice and Tim Burton as well as our cover story Eraserhead, all being rereleased in 4K. We have our first look at the new Bond film and George Clooney’s new film for Netflix. We also got the chance to chat with Nick Frost & Samson Kayo about their new Amazon show Truth Seekers.

elcome back for Issue 2… or if you’re new here, lovely to have you with us.

Aside from being a Halloween Spooktacular with our look at some of the horror genre’s latest creators, it’s also a look forward and appreciation of the past. We can all feel that much older as we celebrate the anniversaries of some great films; Beetlejuice, The Social Network, Back to the Future.

We speak with some incredibly talented creators in Jemma Moore and Lucy Brydon. Plus, we celebrate the legacy of the iconic Chadwick Boseman. Our writers, once again, have done an incredible job. We hope you find something new to watch or a different way of thinking about an old favourite.

David Garlick

michael dickinson

W

W

@davidgarlick

@MD_Shoots

DAVID GARLICK Co-Editor david@filmhounds.co.uk

MICHAEL DICKINSON Co-Editor mike@filmhounds.co.uk MARIA LÄTTILÄ Features maria@filmhounds.co.uk

SOcial @FILMHOUNDSMAG /FILMHOUNDSMAG @FILMHOUNDS Copyright 2020 Filmhounds Magazine. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of FIlmhounds Magazine. Requests for permission should be directed to: info@vulturehound.com.

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editorial

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OCTOBER 2020 FILMHOUNDS 23

BODY BODYOFOFWATER WATER

A Woman’s World:

n o d y r B Lucy

on her directorial debut ‘Body of Water’

B

ody of Water, the directorial debut of Lucy Brydon, is a quietly powerful drama following a woman, Stephanie (Sian Brooke) with an eating disorder trying to balance her relationship with her mother, Susan (Amanda Burton) and teenage daughter, Pearl (Fabienne Piolini-Castle). The prevalence of eating disorders in society, and the prominence of telling the stories of younger girls battling with them, led Brydon to the subject of her first feature.

It was a story that had been in the works for quite a while, she tells us, having wanted to write about an adult woman suffering from an eating disorder even prior to the making of her 2013 short film Babe, about a 13-year-old loner who takes an interest in boxing.

“I felt like it wasn’t something that’s ever really represented.

The stereotypical portrayal tends to be a teenage girl, but I know

10 FILMHOUNDS OCTOBER 2020

there’s a lot of older women, men and trans people who have these issues. That was something I was really conscious about, that was the starting point.”

Body of Water had an inspiring journey for the upcoming writerdirector, with her feature script being picked up for Film London’s Microwave scheme, backed by the BFI and BBC Films. Helming one of twelve projects on the scheme, Brydon was mentored by fellow female directors Lynne Ramsay and Clio Barnard, with the scheme green-lighting only two projects.

“We heard we were one of the two projects in the summer of 2016. By then the script was developed and I did loads of research because with this thing you have to do it justice.

We went into production in April 2018, so two years from the point in which we got that stamp from Film London to production”.

Body of Water made its world premiere at this year’s Glasgow Film Festival - a fitting location for such a film as not only did the

Festival place female voices at the heart of their programming, but also because of Brydon’s own connection to the city. “It was really great. Being a Scottish person, I was really happy to take it there.

Also, it really had the vibe for our film. It is a challenging film, not an easy watch, but Glasgow really got behind us.” Taking place in early March, Body of Water was one of the last films to have an in-person screening as the height of Covid-19 lockdown struck only just after the festival closed its doors. “We were very lucky,” says Brydon, “It is special to touch base with people.

That was a real buzz for us”.

The film received a welcome response, with high praise for Brooke; her performance focuses on the dichotomy of Stephanie’s character, being at once strong and fragile. “I have the most respect for Sian”, says Brydon. The biggest challenge for the actress was the physical transformation, having to lose weight for the role.

Brydon took this as a duty of care, ensuring Brooke had the emotional

Words: alex dewing

“It is special to touch base with people. That was a real buzz for us”.

OCTOBER 2020 FILMHOUNDS 11

HORROR

78%

78%

16 FILMHOUNDS OCTOBER 2020

Words: Maria Lättilä

e l a m e The f f o n o i t u l o v e r %87

r o r r o h OCTOBER 2020 FILMHOUNDS 17

HORROR

H

orror has always been female.

Since the dawn of the genre, the basic premise has often been monsters and ghouls targeting women and committing horrendous acts on the female body, all for the enjoyment of a popcorn-munching audience. Violence against women has always been up for grabs in terms of entertainment, but horror also packed a mighty punch for female empowerment in the form of the Final Girl, a term coined by a famed author Carol J. Clover in her book Men, Women and Chainsaws.

Whether the Final Girl is truly revolutionary or even feminist is debatable, but it’s hard to ignore just how deep the female form of horror truly goes and what a renaissance it has had of late.

Women aren’t just prey anymore, they’re hunters and survivors. More and more female filmmakers have cast their gaze on the genre and used the iconic imagery against itself, creating powerful stories and new icons for generations of women to look up to.

Rape-Revenge & The Female Gaze Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge smartly guides and subverts the audience’s presumed male gaze by utilising the camera as a weapon against it. Jen, played by Matilda Lutz in a role of a lifetime, is at first presented as a voiceless, almost Lolita-esque figure who is flown to a lavish house in the middle of

18 FILMHOUNDS OCTOBER 2020

the desert, owned by her secret boyfriend, the married Richard.

Before we hear her speak, we see her seduce and perform fellatio on Richard. This might sound a little icky and submissive, but already Fargeat commands the narrative and allows Jen to have all the power in the situation.

Later, Richard’s friends arrive and one of them rapes Jen. Fargeat never turns the camera away from the horror experienced by Jen, partially dictated by the rules of the genre and partially Fargeat’s own boldness. When Jen refuses to stay quiet of the incident, Richard pushes her off a cliff, seemingly killing her after she is impaled by a large branch. Jen survives and goes after the men.

Revenge is a typical rape-revenge film until it isn’t. Later in the film, the camera that once ogled at Jen’s smooth legs, now gazes her with respect as it shows her bruised, scarred and marked body. While previous rape-revenge films have almost glorified the rape, lingering on the female victim’s face as she is abused and violated several 78% times, Revenge strikes a delicate balance between the necessary and the disturbing.

Similarly, Sophia Takal’s Black Christmas, a loose remake of a 1974 film of the same name, also attempts to reclaim the rape narrative and inject feminist themes into its story. The film’s protagonist Riley not only has to fight against supernatural powers of evil, but also patriarchy in its most blatant form as well as apathetic authority figures who refuse to take her claims of being raped seriously.

78%

Toxic Relationships Ari Aster has proven himself to be a master of female grief and its horrific consequences in both Hereditary and Midsommar. Both films deal with different types of femininity; motherhood in Hereditary and toxic relationships in Midsommar. Toni Colette’s Annie is a terrible mother, at least if you take her words out of the larger context of the film. She admits to not wanting to be a mother and once dousing her children in gasoline while sleepwalking, only waking up as she lit a match.

Dani, so alone in her relationship, finds female companionship in Hårga. There, she is not only accepted but celebrated and crowned their queen. Once she finds her boyfriend Christian cheating she breaks down in sobs, but instead of being shushed or seen as an inconvenience for having such overwhelmingly consuming emotions as Christian does, the women of Hårga join Dani in her pain, sharing it. Midsommar comes closest to a happy ending, fooling the viewer and Dani herself into believing she has found home but in fact, she has been gaslighted 78% and lied to just as she was by Christian. She has swapped one abusive and toxic relationship for another.

While there’s been a rightful demand for more female representation on-screen as well as behind the camera, horror has always been a sanctuary for women. From Nancy in A Nightmare On Elm Street to Laurie in Halloween, horror has always focused in female protagonists and forced male audience members to relate to a female character rather

than a male one, one of the only genres to do so outside of romantic comedies without being labelled ‘a chick-flick’.

The Terror of Being A Woman Jennifer Kent’s mesmerising debut feature The Babadook was hailed as one of the scariest films of 2014 and rightfully so. Not only does it provide scares related to the titular monster, but it also forces us to examine the ugly side of motherhood, something Hereditary would also do a few years later.

Essie Davis’ Amelia is a single mother, grieving the death of her husband and her son Samuel is a handful. When Samuel begins to believe a monster from a storybook is real and strange events begin to occur, Amelia’s already fragile psyche starts to crumble further.

Motherhood has always been something warm and fuzzy, yet powerful. A mother’s purpose in life is to protect her children with the ferociousness of a lion, but The Babadook shows a side to motherhood we never speak of; the late, sleepless nights, the deafening screaming of your child in the back seat of a car, the overwhelming nature of it all. Samuel isn’t a bad child per se, nor is Amelia a bad mother, but Kent bravely associates motherhood with horror, something that feels like a taboo still, although it might be the reality for a lot of women struggling with their identity and maternal responsibilities.

Women haven’t always been the victims. Ginger Snaps, Jennifer’s Body and A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night all feature women as something to be feared, the beast.

These films boldly reclaim the

damsel in distress trope; even the Final Girls are often helpless until the last moments of the film and almost accidentally defeat the evil.

Ginger Snaps and Jennifer’s Body, as well as Excision, also portray their women as unapologetically sexual. However, they must be punished for this and are turned into the villain, who must be slayed for the balance of the film’s world to return to normal.

Julia Ducornau’s Raw presents a different take on the classic coming-of-age story. A hazing ritual causes the strict vegetarian Justine to suddenly crave meat, but raw chicken breast just won’t cut it. Like most of us, Justine finds herself after moving away from home; she questions everything she knows of the world and alongside her new-found hunger, she also finds her sexuality which seems to bring out something almost animalistic in Justine.

Rather than make her the villain in her own story, Justine’s cannibalistic tendencies are treated with the same respect and curiosity as her sexuality. Something has awoken inside of her and she will need to learn to live with it. She %87 has become a hunter, a powerful woman not to be messed with, but unlike her sister, she retains her humanity and mercy, sparing her sister in the end, only to learn she has inherited something that has been passed down for generations of women in her family. C’est grave.

A Sanctuary What Dani, Ginger, Justine, Amelia, Jen and all their genre sisters have in common is their gender. They bring forth the female experience in nuanced, yet wildly different ways.

Horror has always drawn parallels

to real life, specifically finding inspiration from how terrifying being a woman can be. It’s in the opening scene of Scream; a woman is stalked by a masked, male killer while alone in her house. It’s in the countless scenes of women walking to their cars in the dark, clutching their keys, ready to use them as makeshift weapons, but still succumbing to the killer who’s already in the car waiting for her to let her guard down.

Horror exclusively offers a space for women to explore and process trauma and issues specifically related to their gender and has done so for decades. It’s a genre that offers viewers the chance to experience fear in a safe place and explore subject matters in a way that other genres won’t allow them to. A drama about sexual assault would be a harrowing, potentially necessary and an emotional watch, but horror takes things further, allowing the viewer to experience unprecedented catharsis. In the wrong hands, the filmmaker’s assumed male gaze might become too overpowering and turn things ugly, exploiting where it should explore.

Whether it’s moral to still include scenes of sexual assault and sexual violence in films, for effect, remains debatable. Is it necessary to keep creating set pieces where female bodies are violated and mutilated for the sake of entertainment?

With more and more female filmmakers behind the camera, perhaps the gaze is finally slowly shifting. Upcoming films such as Relic, Candyman and Saint Maud all offer female takes on something previously controlled and produced by men. Vive la revolution!

order magazine in print from filmhounds.co.uk/magazine

OCTOBER 2020 FILMHOUNDS 19

HOST Photo: Steve Ullathorne

“I’m going to prod and poke and wind everybody up”

interview:

we speak with star of ‘host’

Jemma Moore

Words: grae westgate

20 FILMHOUNDS OCTOBER 2020

Host is available now, exclusively on Shudder

s the world adapts to a new era of lockdown and Zoom calls, Rob Savage has managed to cleverly capitalise on our newfound fears of isolation and technology in his chillingly innovative film, Host, in which a group of friends, bored with weekly quizzes, decide to hold a séance over Zoom, with horrifying results. We spoke to star of the film, Jemma Moore, about her rather unique lockdown experiences, as well as the challenges of this new style of filmmaking.

A

Making a horror movie and taking direction over Zoom, how was that for you?

We were really lucky that he had a really good team; Douglas Cox, our producer, and Rob Savage, the director; we would arrive every morning and film on Zoom for them and they would have different screens on, but then we’d also film on a phone that would be velcroed to the back of the laptop… I’ve still got the velco on my laptop! I can’t get it off! That would be like our close-up.

We’d also have the audio interface, our mic pack, and then anything else we’d need to carry we’d have taped around our laptop like some sort of space machine thing so that we could walk about. It was difficult at times… The hardest thing was if one of us hadn’t pressed record and we’d done a really good take, and then one of us would be like “erm… Rob… Doug…” (laughs) It

was difficult at times, but once we actually got into the flow, it was okay.

So you were essentially being your own tech crew as well?

Well, we always had Rob and Doug, and Callum Sample who was on sound was always nearby, so in terms of tech, they would always be on hand to help. On the day, we had all these little WhatsApp groups with videos of how to set things up and every morning we would be watching these videos and putting the stuff together and testing it for ourselves. No one came in this house. The only time anyone was in another house was at the very end, just as lockdown had eased off, and for the stunts. So it was always me on my own, taking direction over Zoom. It was a mixed bag of a lot of support and also us having to be very independent.

Did you ever actually meet the rest of the cast, or has it all been via the screen?

All of us are friends; we have a really lovely friendship group, and all of us are conveniently something in the industry. We’ve had Quarantine Movie Club, which was our WhatsApp group; we’d do a film quiz for the Prince Charles Cinema, Filmageddon, every Wednesday, we’d watch Netflix party films, and we’d try and do boardgames on a Saturday night like everybody else!

Rob had a group of friends at Lucky Thirteen Action who lived in a stunt house with riggers, so they were all stunt people in one house together,

which was very convenient! Teddy (Linard) was in that house; he was an actor and a stunt performer. So, he came into the group and fitted in instantly. But all of us girls knew each other from drama school…

Emma (Webb) I had met years ago on a commercial and we ended up working on Jed (Shepherd)’s film (Multiplex). All the girls worked together on that, so we all knew each other beforehand. But no-one saw each other until towards the end. When I went to Haley (Bishop)’s house, I walked there on the hottest day of spring, in leggings, carrying a jumper, with my mic pack and everything in this bag and on the way I’m on the phone to Douglas Cox picking up sticks trying to find the perfect stick to throw at a window that’s not going to smash it but will make enough noise… And then when I got to Haley’s house, I’m texting her up in the bedroom, Nathaniel Martin was in full PPE, always two meters away from me, and then there’s a paramedic downstairs.

So Nathaniel is directing me doing the stunts, like the wine bottle being thrown at my head; that was constantly from two meters, and the big scene when I’m on the floor and all the cupboards come pouring out, Haley had to reset that every time, and I couldn’t help her because I couldn’t get close! I was basically directing everything that she was doing… “Oh, you missed a teabag!” (laughs)

Being on a film set, you are close to everyone all the time. That lack of closeness must have been such a

OCTOBER 2020 FILMHOUNDS 21

the new

Masters of

w e n e th

f o s r e Mast

r o r Hor Demons, ghouls and cold-blooded killers; these are what horror films are made of. Horror has the power to examine the unknown and deeply affect you, perhaps even scar you.

We spoke to five of the most exciting horror filmmakers we think you should keep an eye out for.

24 FILMHOUNDS OCTOBER 2020

Words: Maria Lättilä

Horror

Adam Egypt Mortimer Mortimer isn’t afraid to get weird with his films, tackling everything from superheroes to demons What do you want people to get out of your films?

I’m using horror to express really dark feelings because it’s important to have that outlet as a creator and as an audience. What I came to realize about horror is that I would never be capable of writing or directing a movie like what Ingrid Bergman does, but I have the same kind of obsessions, concerns and fears about mental illness and anxieties. I realized if I tell this story through demons and revenge, I can get at that thing that interests me, but horror gives you this way to do it that can connect to people. With Daniel Isn’t Real, I wound up focusing on empathy. You have this movie that’s an anxious experience, has crazy creatures and mind-warping shit, but at the end of it, hopefully you’re taking away some sense of empathy.

That’s what I want people to take away, but I want them to take it away in a form that kicks the shit out of them. One thing that I’ve really loved about the way people respond to the movie was that they noticed the way it made them feel, they like the way it makes them feel and it has this immersive quality.

I’m really interested in not just what happens, but how does it happen.

With Daniel Isn’t Real, you created a visual guide to making the film, why?

Part of the reason that I was so strict and worked so hard about it was because I didn’t go to film school. As I started to do it, I got very worried about doing it wrong.

How do I choose what kind of lens to use? How will I ever know how to set up a shot? I rigorously thought about how the style is connected to the theme. I want to be visual and stylistic, I’m driven by cool colours and imagery, but it’s meaningless if it’s not connected to what it’s

I’m using horror to express really dark feelings because it’s important to have that outlet as a creator about. It’s about anxiety, what are the visual metaphors for anxiety?

It’s about duality, how do I do two different kinds of colours? All of that stuff flows from wanting to figure out how to make a movie.

And now having gone through this process and made such a strict document, it’ll be fun to talk about that and share it with people.

Both your films are very physical experiences, is that important to you?

You’re talking about depicting physicality and how that affects you as a viewer. I think that is super important to me. When we were working out Daniel, when I was writing with Brian (DeLeeuw) who wrote the novel, we were always talking about Daniel being an imaginary friend, but we’re going to depict that in a very physical way. When they have body swaps, it’s like ripping, tearing flesh, bending bones, because he’s a part of Luke’s nervous system.

Even with Some Kind Of Hate, Moira is an undead spirit, but she’s very physical in the way she kills people, opening up the flesh. I just finished filming another movie called Archenemy. It’s an action, science-fiction, superhero movie, but I’m curious to see if it will have the same kind of effect on people as Daniel did, despite this being a different genre.

Are you worried about bringing Archenemy into a world that is full of superhero films?

I had my own thing to say about it. I’ve always been obsessed with comics. And the depth of storytelling about superheroes in that medium is incredible. And I had been feeling they aren’t doing that in the movies yet. I’m not seeing superhero movies made with the style I like. I think that there’s plenty of room for it.

OCTOBER 2020 FILMHOUNDS 25 71

truth seekers

NICK Frost+ Samson Kayo

truth seekers 30 FILMHOUNDS OCTOBER 2020

Words: Maria Lättilä

T

ruth Seekers, Amazon’s new 8-part horrorcomedy about ghost-hunting broadband engineers, r e u n i t e s Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in laugh-heavy roles and in Pegg’s case, a very handsome wig. Frost plays Gus, an engineer working for Pegg’s Dave at a company called Smyle, fixing and installing broadbands, but also moonlighting as a ghost hunter. Gus films his paranormal experiences and uploads them

on to Youtube for fellow ghost enthusiasts to see. At Smyle, he gets teamed up with young Elton (Samson Kayo) whom he then introduces to the world of ghosts.

Truth Seekers, while standing firmly on its own legs, feels rich in homages to some classic, beloved shows. Frost lists X-Files and Arthur C. Clarke’s World of Strange Powers as key influences for the show. “We got down Youtube tunnels where we watched ghosts and doors closing and things moving across tables. Italian women being exorcised in villages in Pisa.”

“We got down Youtube tunnels where we watched ghosts and doors closing and things moving across tables.

Italian women being exorcised in villages in Pisa.”

OCTOBER 2020 FILMHOUNDS 31

Photos: Netflix

ON SCREEN

CAUGHT IN THE ACT:

WHY IS VIOLENCE STILL MORE ACCEPTABLE THAN SEX ON SCREEN?

ut of all the films I have seen over the years, there is one particular c i n e m a experience I keep casting my mind back to: Iron Man 3. Not because of the infamous plot twist but for something much more sinister. Stripped of his Iron Man suit, Tony Stark infiltrates an enemy hideout armed only with his wits and makeshift weaponry. It isn’t clear whether the takedowns executed by Stark are lethal or non-

O

40 FILMHOUNDS OCTOBER 2020

lethal, but either way, it feels like an aggressive departure from blasting CG robots and aliens in a flying suit.

I felt shook by the sudden realistic violence in a mainstream superhero movie but thought mostly about the intended audience who were sat around me: children and families.

Do these people find it acceptable for heroes on the big screen to enact violence for two hours in front of starstruck kids? It made me think about what content the general public are actually concerned about the most and I had vivid recollections of myself watching certain shows and

films with older family members: an uncle covering my eyes, my mum questioning what she could hear on the TV, my gran turning the film off in a fit of rage. The content being shown in those scenarios? Sex. Why are audiences more accepting of violence and death than they are of sex? It is a question that has been asked several times before in the past but in today’s world, where sex is becoming less of a taboo, why hasn’t anything changed in its onscreen representation?

To begin answering these questions, we need to look at what restrictions are in place and how these

Words: gavin spoors restrictions started in the first place; you may have heard of the infamous Hays Code from the golden days of Hollywood. Formally known as the Motion Picture Production Code, the Hays Code was a set of moral guidelines that American film studios applied to their films from the early 1930s right up to the late 60s. It was an attempt by Hollywood to avoid government censorship by self-regulating their features but the code itself, being devised primarily by catholic figures, was filled with traditional values. Some of the rules, created to uphold “correct standards of life”, meant that sexual behaviour between consenting adults couldn’t be shown, percieved sexual perversion, such as homosexuality and interracial relationships, were banned and women had to have at least one foot on the floor to prevent love scenes from playing out. Murder and brutal killings were allowed, and the American flag had to be respected as well as religious faith.

Whilst the US has the Motion Picture Association (MPA) nowadays, us Brits have the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). We all recognise their work: seeing age ratings from the green U for Universal to the deep-red 18 rated stickers slapped onto DVD covers and beside film titles on Netflix.

The BBFC has an extensive history on classification and contentrestriction, even out-dating the Hays Code. Originally founded as the British Board of Film Censors in 1912, the BBFC was designed to give an official rating to each film released in the UK, as local councils at the time were the ones who rated films shown in their cinemas. It was in 1916, however, when the BBFC devised strict criteria for what was acceptable and what would be cut from the motion pictures. This was remarkably similar to the Hays Code, which wouldn’t be established for several years still.

This list was evidence for the Cinema Commission Inquiry, set up by the National Council of Public Morals (NCPM), to prove that the BBFC was protecting public morals at the time. The President of the BBFC back then, and the one whose task was to summarise the BBFC’s policy into the list, was none other than T. P. O’Connor: a famed MP of Liverpool, Irish Nationalist and journalist. This list contained 43 infractions that would be cut from films if necessary and covered everything from violence, sex and drugs, to religion and politics.

Notably, violence wasn’t mentioned that much apart from “Gruesome murders…” and “…excessive cruelty and torture to adults…” but sex was censored quite heavily: “Men and women in bed together”, “Indelicate sexual situations”, “Situations accentuating delicate marital relations” and several other criteria. It is also worth noting that “References to controversial politics” would be cause to cut material from a film, as well as “Subjects dealing with India, in which British Officers are seen in an odious light…”. Was O’Connor and his small team of examiners in a position to dictate what was controversial and what was deemed moral viewing for the public?

Probably not, but it’s possible that O’Connor was also trying to please the NCPM and the general public.

Throughout the BBFC’s history there has been plenty of changes to their guidelines and different controversies to deal with. In the 1950s, there was a rise in teenagers going to the movies and with it came a concern about films that promoted hooliganism and antisocial behaviour in the eyes of the BBFC; most notably Rebel Without A Cause. During this decade the BBFC introduced the X category (which excluded children under 16) and the H category (advising parents of horror in films). The Swinging 60s

saw little change but with the growth of films focussing on homosexuality and with the release of the 1957 Wolfenden Report (where laws banning homosexuality were relaxed), the then BBFC secretary John Trevelyan made a statement on how homosexuality was never banned on screen by the BBFC but “the subject was one that would probably not be acceptable to the British audience”.

Do these people find it acceptable for heroes on the big screen to enact violence in front of starstruck kids?

A big change in the age ratings was seen in the 1970s with the inclusion of the AA rating where under 14’s were not allowed admission. The big controversy during this decade was around sexual violence, thanks to Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and other films containing graphic rape scenes. In the 1980s, there were the Video Nasties that came from the development of video cassettes. The new technology made way for low-budget horror films to be produced and distributed without the official approval from the BBFC, since they had not created any guidelines for this new format.

Sexual violence seemed to still be the biggest source of controversy and the BBFC changed the age rating system before the end of the decade: featuring the more recognisable U, PG, 12, 15, 18 and R18 ratings.

OCTOBER 2020 FILMHOUNDS 41

: d a e h r erase c i t a m e n a ci k c a t t a panic t only takes a couple of seconds to be hit by the bizarre f e e l i n g Eraserhead aims to evoke. In grainy black and white, we see Henry Spencer’s head lie sideways with what seems to be a gruesome growth emerging from it.

It’s soon revealed that he is actually floating, translucent, with a spermlike creature emerging from his mouth at the control of The Man In The Planet.

I

So, it’s that sort of film, eh?

While a film like Terry Gilliam’s Brazil throws you in at the deep end with almost non-stop strangeness, Lynch is a master of mixing the mundane into his madness. Henry returns to his apartment with his shopping?

Quite relatable. His apartment is filled with decaying vegetation?

44 FILMHOUNDS OCTOBER 2020

Questionable. He is asked to carve a chicken at the dinner table at his girlfriend Mary X’s apartment?

Okay. The chicken is writhing around on the plate, dripping with blood? Disconcerting. Oh, and of course, Henry’s girlfriend’s mother tries to kiss him before revealing that her daughter has given birth to something she isn’t quite sure is human.

However, it’s in Mary’s apartment where everything changes. We figure out exactly why Henry looks so scared, and ‘the unknown’ stops being unknown. Traditionally, a horror film loses its impact when the monster/alien/ghost/murderer/ entity is revealed in the flesh, but that doesn’t happen in Eraserhead.

In fact, it makes everything much, much worse.

Until this visit to Mary’s apartment, Henry seems inexplicably terrified and almost impossible to relate to.

His speech is subdued, quiet and questioning, while his movements are nervous and often accompanied by subtle shakes and wide-eyed confusion. It’s unnerving, because we don’t yet have any understanding of his world. We’re aware that it isn’t exactly normal, but up until this point, we haven’t seen anything that strange. As viewers, we see Henry trapped inside his own horror film, terrified of the unknown.

The Exorcist is often considered to be one of the scariest films of all time, but everything in it happens at face value. Regan is possessed, and we watch her and those around her deal with the consequences of that.

Through Eraserhead, Lynch turns the horror filmmaking formula on its head. We aren’t watching a set of characters deal with a world they understand; we, the audience, are Henry, as he blindly wanders through a landscape that neither he or us can comprehend. On top of that, there is no respite; there’s no light-hearted one-liner or picnic

aniaakaniaakaniaakiaakankk

ERASERHEAD

Words: dan peeke

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BACK TO THE FUTURE

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Words: tom beasley

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Anniversary

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BACK TO THE FUTURE ne of the most backhanded compliments you can give a film is to call it a “crowdpleaser”.

Along with “sentimental”, it’s a word that might seem at first to be a mark of respect – an acknowledgement that the movie has achieved its purpose.

However, it’s also dismissive. It suggests that the movie is a mere frivolity, yelling and prancing for those in the cheap seats rather than engaging with audiences on a more cerebral level. Often, that’s exactly what a crowd-pleaser does, but to dismiss that as not artistically valid is a ridiculous proposition. Because, if you look up “crowd-pleaser” in the dictionary, you’ll almost certainly find four words – Back to the Future.

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There aren’t many films like Back to the Future. It’s a lightning fast comedy that takes the inherent complexity of time travel and dials it down to the bare bones of the concept, ensuring that it doesn’t take a flowchart or a wall covered in blackboards to follow what’s

if you look up “crowd-pleaser” in the dictionary, you’ll almost certainly find four words – Back to the Future happening. Instead, it’s a movie that gets into the bloodstream with its comedic energy and a warmly sentimental blast of heart.

Writing buddies Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale first came up with the idea for Back to the Future in 1980 after they made the satirical comedy Used Cars for Columbia Pictures and were seeking the right storyline for a time travel project. Gale’s original concept sprung from the question of whether he would have been friends with his own father if they’d been at school together. They approached Columbia with the idea and left with a deal to write the script, with a first draft penned within five months.

Gale and Zemeckis were immediately knocked back, however, from two different directions.

Columbia thought the script was too light and fluffy, with Bob Gale stating on the special features for the Blu-ray that the studio was “looking for raunchier comedies these days”. Teen movies of the early 1980s were sexuallycharged beasts like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Porky’s, with Back to the Future looking a little too nice in comparison. Everybody else in Hollywood agreed, with the exception of Disney. The Mouse House had the opposite problem,

baulking at the near-incest between Marty McFly and his mother. Too naughty for some and too nice for others, Back to the Future was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Steven Spielberg, who had executive produced several of Zemeckis’s previous movies, was a fan of the project, but both Gale and the director were reluctant to work with him again, lest they be written off as repeated box office failures hanging on to their famous friend’s coattails. Zemeckis resolved to take on the next solid script that came around in the hope of building his profile. That film was 1984’s Romancing the Stone, which won two Golden Globes and earned almost 10 times its budget at the global box office. Suddenly, Zemeckis was a commodity and the duo felt able to go back to Spielberg. It was game on.

Zemeckis and Gale now had everything they needed to get this project off the ground and they began to finesse the story. The time-travelling refrigerator of an early draft became the ultra-cool DeLorean sports car – the closest thing to a spaceship that existed in the world of real road vehicles. A very costly-looking ending in which the only way to send the DeLorean back to the future was by driving it into the heart of a nuclear reactor was axed in favour of Doc Brown dangling off a building waiting for an opportune bolt of lightning.

Expectations suitably managed, the script was ready, but the movie needed a cast.

The various casting ups and downs of Back to the Future have been welldocumented over the years. Michael J. Fox was just about everybody’s first choice, but his commitment to the NBC sitcom Family Ties meant

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that he was not available. John Cusack and Johnny Depp were among the stars who auditioned for the part, but it was Eric Stoltz who ultimately won the role. Only a few weeks into the shoot, Zemeckis decided to recast and bin the footage Stoltz had filmed as he was deemed to have given a performance that weighed too heavily on drama rather than comedy. He also looked uncomfortable on a skateboard, apparently. I sympathise.

Fox would work on Family Ties throughout the day and then film nights managing five hours of sleep on average for the 100 days of production

By January 1985, Fox’s schedule had cleared somewhat and the filmmakers struck a deal with the Family Ties producers. Fox could do Back to the Future, as long as Family Ties remained his priority and that any scheduling conflicts would fall the way of the TV show.

For much of the Back to the Future shoot, Fox would work on Family Ties throughout the day and then film nights on the movie, just about managing five hours of sleep on average for the 100 days of production. Perhaps some of the manic energy that powers Fox’s exceptionally likeable performance comes from the amount of caffeine the actor presumably had to imbibe to keep himself awake during those marathon days and nights on set.

Jeff Goldblum and John Lithgow almost played the unpredictable scientist Doc Brown before Christopher Lloyd signed on to deliver his Einstein-inspired, wild-

haired portrayal of the man behind the Flux Capacitor. Crispin Glover’s unique improvisation style nabbed him the part of George McFly, while Lea Thompson took up the crucial role of Marty’s mother, Lorraine – wearing a three-and-a-half-hour make-up job to play the 1985 version of Lorraine in the opening scenes.

By the end of April, Back to the Future was in the can. Zemeckis and Universal began test screening the movie and received the biggest approval scores the studio had ever managed with an early look at a film. Exec Sidney Sheinberg – who had previously suggested the truly awful Spaceman from Pluto as a title for the movie – decided that the release date should be moved forward in order to take advantage of the 4th July weekend. Thus, only nine and a half weeks after production wrapped, Back to the Future opened to around $11m on

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preview

preview

Words: Emrys Moungabio The announcement of a new Batman film was met by some with scepticism. The sparkly vampire from Twilight was the new caped crusader? Say it ain’t so! Of course, this ignored the various projects Robert Pattinson has been toiling away at over the last several years.

The actor who once starred in teen films now spends his time delivering more mature performances, giving his all to his roles and gaining rave reviews as a result. So really, it’s no surprise that when we finally got a glimpse of our new Dark Knight, and he told us he’s ‘vengeance’ after brutally beating down a crook, we’re inclined to believe him.

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Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/ ™ & © DC Comics

The batman

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RANKED © 2003 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.

the films of Sean Connery

ranked As Sir Sean Connery turns 90 we look at his 10 best performances he COVID pandemic has brought the world of cinema to an unfortunate standstill.

One of the first films to be affected was No Time to Die, the twenty-fifth cinematic outing for Ian Fleming’s fictional spy James Bond. Not only is it Daniel Craig’s final film in the role, it is also released in a year of a significant milestone for one of the series’ most important figuresthis month marks the 90th birthday of the man who was first chosen to bring 007 to life, Sean Connery.

Despite being followed by five other actors, Connery remains the standard by which all other Bonds are judged. But a look at Connery’s career reveals a depth and scope far beyond the character that will forever define his legacy.

The man who would become Sir Sean Connery was born on 25th August 1930 in Fountainbridge,

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Edinburgh. His actual first name is Thomas, but been has been referred to by his middle name Sean since he was a teenager.

By the age of 18, he had already grown to his full height of 6 foot 2. Like his famous alter ego, Connery enlisted in the Royal Navy, joining in 1946 and acquiring the two tattoos that would be visible on his forearm in all his later film appearances. Discharged at 19, he worked as among other things, a milkman, a lorry driver, a lifeguard, a labourer, an artist’s model and a coffin polisher. After rejecting an opportunity to play as a professional footballer for Manchester United, he turned his attentions to acting.

After working backstage at the King’s Theatre, he earned a part in a production of South Pacific, where he would meet fellow actor, Sir Michael Caine, establishing a long friendship. After making a variety of films, with varying degrees of success, he would make two movies that would firmly

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establish himself as a star for the future- Another Time, Another Place with Lana Turner and Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959) alongside Albert Sharp and Jimmy O’Dea. It was his role in the latter that would earn him the attentions of producers Albert R Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, who were casting for someone to play James Bond in their adaptations of Ian Fleming’s books. Although Fleming was hesitant towards him, preferring Cary Grant, he eventually relented and Connery was cast. Dr. No, released in October 1962, became a huge success, owed in large part to Connery’s performance.

He would return as Bond in From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965) and You Only Live Twice (1967), becoming an enormous star and worldwide icon. However, the success came to upset Connery, who felt he was being typecast by the role and he eventually resigned from the part in 1967. He would, however, be

Words: Callum Barrington coaxed back to Diamonds Are Forever (1971), donating his entire salary to the Scottish International Education Trust, an organisation he founded.

Twelve years later, he made one final appearance in Never Say Never Again (1983), an unofficial film made to rival EON’s Octopussy.

Of all his Bond films, his best is his second, From Russia with Love.

It’s here that he is able to present James Bond as a more threedimensional hero, rather than the rather cardboard figure he would become by the end of his run.

Connery would continue to work solidly until choosing to retire following disappointing reviews for his last film, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, released in 2003. Among the films he turned down were Jurassic Park (1993, in which he was offered Richard Attenborough’s role), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003- he was asked to play Gandalf, but couldn’t understand the script) Looking at Connery’s work beyond Bond, it’s clear to see a lot of the films he made were attempts to distance himself from Bond, or to play on the persona in a humorous way. His filmography features films made by Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Lumet, John Huston, Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg, John McTiernan, Michael Bay and Terry Gilliam, while his range of characters include a submarine captain, seasoned criminals, police officers, villains and even a dragon.

He often retained his Scottish accent and not all of his films (The Avengers) are even remotely good, but the ten performances listed below represent Connery as the star he was, with the ability to dominate a film even when not playing a lead role. As he enters his tenth decade, seeing him as more than just James Bond may be the best birthday present he can receive.

Barley Blair

Robin Hood

10. The Russia House

9. Robin and Marian

1990 -

1976 - As with Sherlock Holmes,

Like a lot of actors, Connery got his chance to make a John Le Carre adaptation when he appeared in Fred Schepisi’s The Russia House in 1990. Pairing him with Michelle Pfeiffer, he plays Barley Blair, a jazz-loving publisher hired to investigate the credibility of a manuscript detailing Soviet nuclear capabilities. As with a lot of Le Carre’s work, the film is dense, complex and multi-faceted, functioning as a spy thriller, a romance and a dark comedy. Blair is among Connery’s most complicated characters and his performance is certainly one of his richest, revealing both the weariness and hope beneath Blair’s ruffled skin while at the same time remaining incorrigibly difficult and stubborn. The movie itself loses some steam, but Connery never wavers in his dedication to the role

Robin Hood has been played by countless actors, ranging from the successful (Errol Flynn) to the downright terrible (Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe). Connery’s turn as the legendary archer came in 1976, when he was cast to play an older, wearier Robin alongside Audrey Hepburn’s Maid Marian.

The film is more reflective and less hurly-burly than other Robin Hood adaptations, focussing on the passage of time and the bitterness of mortality. Connery’s performance, guided by Hepburn matching him all the way, is of a man full of regret and sorrow, whose decision to engage Robert Shaw’s Sherriff of Nottingham is not borne from heroism, but from a need to feel useful to Marian again. Despite only being in his mid-40s, Connery’s mannerisms and body movements suggest fatigue and tiredness, both from the constant years of fighting and the realisation that time is slipping away fast. With John Barry also in fine form, Connery is able to play a well-known character without being shackled by the previous iterations.

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BEETLEJUICE

e c i u j Beetle

n o t r & Bu

ost directors have their own, recognisable trademarks.

For Spielberg, it’s the absent father, for Fincher it’s the hazy, yellow visuals and for Nolan it’s music so loud it dwarfs the exposition - and Michael Caine.

However, Tim Burton’s trademarks are many and frequent.

beginnings of what would form the backbone of Burton’s career for the next thirty plus years. Beetlejuice is about a couple - Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who die in a freak car accident and upon returning to their eccentric house on a hill, they find that a family of yuppies have moved in and seek to expel them from their house with the help of a bio-exorcist - the titular Beetlejuice (or Betelgeuse).

In Beetlejuice, Burton’s 1988 second feature, which finds itself in the midst of a glorious new 4K re-release, we can see the

From the off, the film features several significant trademarks for Burton’s career, starting with the opening credits following the

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way to the Maitlands’ house to a thundering Danny Elfman score.

Elfman would score every Tim Burton film with the exception of Ed Wood, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. The eccentric sounds of Elfman’s scores would become almost synonymous with their collaborations. The kooky opening credits also feature in most Tim Burton films until 2010 when he appeared to lose interest in them.

The credits would often be following something or leading somewhere, perhaps exemplified by the lead in to the Maitland house, or through

F O S F I T O M D N A S E THE THEM K R O W S ' N TIM BURTO

WORDS: PAUL KLEIN the sewers in Batman Returns or even the sinister ride to Sleepy Hollow in the film of the same name.

Similarly, the Maitlands’ death happen because of a dog. Dogs and death are two recurring elements in Burton films, with his short film, then re-made as a feature Frankenweenie being specifically about a dead dog being brought back to life. This can also be seen in animated feature Corpse Bride in which a dog skeleton, which then springs to life, is given to the protagonist as a gift, and in Burton produced The Nightmare

Before Christmas in which a dog’s ghost is a prominent character.

place than the gothic structures his protagonists live within.

The recurring elements of Burton’s works tell us about his personal interests as well as the director’s own fears. It’s easy to say that Burton has a fixation with strange houses on hills; Edward Scissorhands, Batman & Batman Returns, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Dark Shadows and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children all feature houses that stand out among the non-descript nature of suburbia, something which Burton returns to time and time again as a far more sinister

Same can be said about our heroes; Lydia Deetz played by Winona Ryder is a classic Burton protagonist; an outsider, who doesn’t fit in with her family. A dark and gothic figure that looks like a female version of Burton himself, she feels more kinship with the deceased Maitlands than her yuppie parents, who want to gentrify the rustic house. This alienation feeds into the idea that being alienated from parents is a natural thing, that parents will never understand the wants and

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