Jensen Ackles, Katie Cassidy, Lauren Cohan, Misha Collins, Jared Padalecki, Mark Sheppard
Synopsis
Supernatural is the story of Sam and Dean Winchester - two brothers who grow into their family business of slaying demons. They live on the road and travel from one location of supernatural activity to the next, all the time on the lookout for their father, who left to hunt down the yellow-eyed demon that killed his wife.
Yay or nay?
Well, there is a reason why Supernatural is currently the longest-running North American science-fiction series. The unique mixture of ghost-hunts, urban legends, roadtrips, difficult family relations and a great soundtrack is definitely worth watching.
Writing: Todd Casey, Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields
Cinematography: Jules O'Loughlin
Cast: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, Krista Stadler, Maverick Flack, Lolo Owen, Queenie Samuel
“It's Christmas. Nothing bad is going to happen on Christmas.” -- Linda
The fun and joy of St Nick's Day lies well behind us. This gives us time to dive deeper into a more sinister aspect of the Advent season. An old European myth tells of a hideous creature named Krampus, a demonic anti-Santa - half man, half goat -, who likes to punish those children who behaved badly throughout the year and are thus unworthy of Santa's gifts.
In his new film, director Michael Dougherty takes the Krampus lore and turns it into an entertaining old-school horror experience. And while it is fun to watch Krampus and his evil little helpers wreak some havoc amongst a festive family gathering, the movie's underlying message to embrace the Christmas spirit and be thankful for what one has feels slightly force-fed. In the end, it's the overly serious tone that thwarts the film's potential to become a stand-out holiday classic.
Dougherty's efforts to point out the corruption of Christmas work well in the very beginning, though. In a glorious slow motion opening montage, we see a bunch of people storm a store while "It's the most wonderful time of the year" is playing in the background. The people, however, fight for last-minute gifts, spend money sans end, shout at each other and wither away in holiday madness. Here, Christmas is a capitalist hell, and while the whole thing is hilarious to behold, it's also quite shocking in all its accuracy.
When, afterwards, the main protagonists are introduced, we know for sure that this Christmas will most likely be an exchange of menace and misgivings instead of joy and happiness. With liberals Tom (Adam Scott) and Sarah (Toni Collette) and their two children facing the arrival of their gun-crazy, army-loving relatives Howard (David Koechner) and Linda (Allison Tolman) and their offspring, trouble is basically ready to happen. Tom and Sarah's son Max (Emjay Anthony) soon is fed-up with his gruff relatives and wishes his whole family gone, unaware that his impulsive plea summons Krampus. And the holiday demon is more than ready to haunt the family and ban each and every member to the underworld.
What ensues is, on the one hand, a narrative in which the family finds itself up against mean-spirited gingerbread men, a ravenous Jack In The Box, a zombie teddy bear, a murderous puppet and a vicious toy robot. Those sequences are neither shocking nor particularly graphic, but rather deliciously silly and just fun to watch. Additionally, they bring out the strongest feature of the film: the engaging prop and costume design. All the deadly playthings are crafted with detail and care, the gingerbread men endowed with lovely animation and cute sound effects. The evil elves helping Krampus along the way wear beautifully creepy masks, and the demon himself is a towering, unpleasant presence.
On the other hand, there is the emotional development from a broken family to a harmonious entity. Since Krampus is a Christmas movie, after all, this turn of events is to be expected. However, the respective changes feel so unnatural, so forced that they inspire some heavy eye-rolling rather than a heartwarming sensation. And once the family members begin to grow closer and find appreciation for each other, the enjoyable silliness begins to vanish into the background and sentimentality takes over. I personally would have preferred to see the film make more comedic use of the cliché-infested set-up and extend the general absurdity of it all.
But don't get me wrong, Krampus certainly is a nice alternative to the usual lovey-dovey Christmas fare that enters cinemas every December. It's fun, nice to look at and creepy in a retro, Gremlins kind of way. Unfortunately, the film takes itself a tad too seriously and instead of going bonkers eventually goes back to lovey-dovey - not even the ambitious ending can change this impression. So, be careful, Mr. Dougherty, because, come next year, Krampus might want to punish you for telling his story in such a sentimental way...
Cast: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Robert Wisdom, Don McManus, Ashley Benson, Kirsten Robek, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Luisa D’Oliveira, David Ingram
"You know, back in the day, this was the one night you kept your children inside. Well, tonight you’ll all see what Halloween really is.” – Witch
Happy Halloween, BSPeeps! What are your plans on the creepiest of holidays? Going to a costume party? Trick-or-treat-ing through the neighbourhood? Or simply having a movie night watching horror classics of old and new? Whatever you’re up to, make sure that you’ll have a bloody good time and enjoy being scared out of your wits. And take it easy on the candy. Nah, I’m kidding. Eat it all up – no regrets.
In today’s episode close-up, I’d like to have a look at a show that has always leaned on the darker side of things. Ghosts, demons, witches, vampires, werewolves and more otherworldly creatures usually roam the scenery, and a whole bunch of urban legends has been at the centre of this TV series – at least in the first three seasons. The talk is of Supernatural, the show in which the Winchester brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) travel the US countryside in order to fight evil forces and unusual occurrences.
For Halloween, it is only fitting to pick out the show’s very own Halloween-themed episode, called “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester“, from the fourth season. Its original air date was on the 30 October 2008, and now I’m gonna find out whether “The Great Pumpkin” still has the potential to make it onto the definite to-watch list of a more modern Halloween-loving crowd.
Set on the day right before Halloween, the very beginning of the episode is more than promising. In a kitchen of a small town family home, we see two young parents stow away some candy for the upcoming Halloween night. When the mother (Kirsten Robek) takes the couple’s baby up to the bathroom to clean the toddler up, her husband (David Ingram) cannot resist opening the candy box and snitching one piece for an early treat. His delightful chewing is interrupted quickly, though, because he seems to have bitten onto something, well... unusual. The camera perspective changes and we look out of the man’s mouth, seeing that a razor blade is stuck in the upper part of his gums. He succeeds in pulling it out, blood flowing into his mouth. However, there’s not much time for the shock to sink in. The man starts to cough up two more blades, falls to the floor, twitches. When the wife returns from upstairs, she finds the blood on the floor and her husband lying in it – dead. This is exactly what any fan of Halloween and gory horror could hope for. The urban legend of manipulated candy that will bring death to all the unsuspecting holiday celebrators is incorporated into a bloody, disturbing filmic start. It’s gross and crude and perfectly frightening.
A couple of scenes later, a teenage girl (Luisa D’Oliveira) dies while bopping for apples at a costume party. Some supernatural power seems to hold her under water and, on top of this, the water seems to boil up very quickly, burning the girls entire face. Another Halloween-ish nightmare come true.
Of course, all these occurrences alert Sam and Dean, who quickly find out that the deaths are caused by a very old witch who’s trying to raise the demon Samhain with a few neat blood sacrifices. After some researching, Sam informs us that, hundreds of years ago, Halloween wasn’t a festivity of joy and harmless spooking around. People wore masks to scare off Samhain, or tried to appease him with blood or harvest sacrifices. Since on 31 October the line between the living and the dead is said to be the thinnest, Halloween is usually the night in which Samhain would terrorise humanity by raising other demons, ghosts and even zombies. Fortunately, Sam tells us, he was exorcised some time ago. So now the two brothers have to stop the wicked witch from luring him back out of hell.
So far so good. “The Great Pumpkin” succeeds in establishing a nice Halloween setting by presenting us with a small town in midst of its final holiday preparations. The houses are decorated with pumpkins and ghosts. Dressed up kids trick-or-treat through the streets and pre-Halloween parties are in full swing. The gruesome deaths occurring during typical Halloween activities, namely eating candy and apple bopping, create an effective chill within me. It’s something that could really happen to all of us. I also like how the show presents us with the pagan roots of Halloween and gives us a short yet informative look behind the rituals we usually perform on this holiday. Additionally, there’s the usual banter between the brothers with Sam scolding Dean for eating too much candy (how absurd!) or not taking the Halloween-ish dangers seriously. For the first twenty minutes or so, the episode really is good fun.
Then the angels appear. I know, many fans of the show enjoy archangels Uriel (Robert Wisdom) and especially Castiel (Misha Collins) and their talk of apocalyptic damnation. They enjoy seeing the show turn from a family-centred drama with subplots inspired by urban legends to a melodramatic tale of, literally, Biblical proportions. But, to be honest, my interest in the show has decreased significantly since the apocalyptic subplot has emerged. Well, basically, I stopped watching in the middle of season 5.
“The Great Pumpkin” pretty much illustrates my dislike for the angelic takeover. As soon as Castiel and Uriel arrive, the dynamics of the episode become entirely different. What happens to be a fun, creepy, interesting little story in the beginning becomes a tale with much more sinister undertones. Granted that Sam and Dean always have had to fight evil forces and that most often lives have been at stake, things have gone into the direction of ultimate gloom and doom, of world’s end, of a fight between God and Lucifer themselves when the angels were introduced. The quirky charm of the show is sacrificed for a much heavier and more bloated subject matter.
In this episode, the raising of Samhain isn’t just a normal wickedness planned by a mean, old hag. No, the angels seek the Winchesters to tell them that summoning the Halloween demon is part of the 66 seals that prevent Lucifer from rising. So, should Samhain walk the Earth again, Lucifer is one step closer to wrecking humanity. The whole episode is no longer genuinely Halloween-centred, it’s just another puzzle piece in a Biblical face-off. To make things short: I long for the days when Supernatural was more grounded, and not so grave and, well, boringly, pious.
In the end, angels or no angels, Sam and Dean manage to find the witch or, as it turns out, witches that seek to bring back Samhain. The brothers are a little late, though. Samhain rises and starts to bring back the dead with him. In the showdown, taking place in a vault, Dean has to fight ghosts and zombies who begin to climb out of their resting places. This is the moment when the show resorts back to its original, slightly campy fun.
In a different part of the vault, Sam uses his demonic powers to exorcise Samhain, even though the angels have warned Sam to never ever, ever, ever use those powers again. At this point in the show, the younger Winchester brother is pretty much on the brink of breaking bad. We know that the use of his special skills – given to him by a demon when he was just a little baby – makes him ruthless, blood-thirsty, evil. The show is obviously aiming at a conflict between demonic Sam and angel favourite Dean, so destroying Samhain is not just about making Halloween child-friendly again, it’s about – yawn – the apocalypse and stuff.
I admit that I always enjoy the conflicts between the two brothers. So setting Sam and Dean up against each other, apocalyptically or otherwise, is pretty great. The look on Dean’s face in this episode, when he sees Sam using his powers again, is wonderful. It’s a mixture of ‘Oh no, not again! What are you doing?’ and ‘Poor Sammy, you go to such a length to protect us all from the wicked Halloween demon.’ Dean’s realisation that Sam is willing to always sacrifice a bit of his soul in order to save the people around him is indeed a special and heartfelt moment.
“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester” starts of nicely. It’s properly Halloween-ish and fun to watch. When the episode tries to root the Halloween plot inside the apocalyptic subplot, things start to fall flat for me. The angels annoy and bore me. Their talk of Heaven and Hell annoys and bores me. Fortunately, the final showdown between Sam and Samhain can make up for some of the angelic snooze-fest. But still, I can’t deny that at this point in the show, Supernatural is slowly but certainly beginning to exorcise my love for it. Excuse me while I spend Halloween weeping in a corner for a bit. Until someone brings me candy. Lots of candy.
Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, Jim Beaver, Burn Gorman, Leslie Hope
“Love makes monsters of us all.” – Lady Lucille Sharpe
In an interview with The Guardian, director Guillermo del Toro stated that it wasn’t his intention to “reinvent” the gothic romance. He rather planned on bringing modern audiences closer to those stories abundant with supernatural occurrences, repressed eroticism and/or shocking psychological revelations. His Crimson Peak is indeed a very much by-the-book effort, presenting everything I’ve come to expect from the genre. And while Del Toro provides us with intriguing images and a thrilling final act, he mostly fails to establish strong lead characters and truly frightening sensations.
Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) falls head-over-heels for young Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). After a rushed marriage, the handsome baronet moves his new wife to live in his run-down family estate somewhere in the middle of nowhere. But Edith does not feel quite at home. For one, there’s Thomas’s controlling and grim sister Lady Lucille (Jessica Chastain), and then Edith is also haunted by a bunch of ghostly creatures who warn her of her new, apparently murderous, accommodation.
The Sharpe mansion is indeed the star of Del Toro’s film. Gloomy hallways, strange noises, old-fashioned furniture, a 19th-century elevator, dying flies on cupboards and moths flying out of every dark corner, blood-red clay seeping through the floorboards like the earth is ready to swallow the place whole – this house stands out as an ominous character on its own. The set design, in addition to the lush costumes and moody lighting choices, creates an atmosphere of spine-chilling opulence and a sense of unhealthy nostalgia, of lingering in a past that is rooted in rotten deeds.
I immediately get this The Fall of the House of Usher (1960) vibe. There’s a fair bit of Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940) in there as well, and an abandoned wheelchair alludes to some Jane Eyre-ish madness in the attic. The film opens up another Poe-esque dimension with its abrupt outbursts of relentless, graphic violence. For me personally, these moments harbour much more shock than any of the ghost appearances throughout the film. Mostly computer-generated, these abstract and out-of-this-world looking beings never quite manifest themselves as a tangible threat to my peace of mind, and, most often, they pop up and vanish in a rather predictable fashion. While this particular look and the tame, old-school scare tactics probably were exactly what the Mexican director aimed to achieve, I had a difficult time being spooked by these swirling CGI spectres.
What also puts a damper on my overall enjoyment of the film is that most of the main characters suffer from a lack of depth and intrigue. Edith, especially. She starts off as an independent spirit (no pun intended) and shrivels into a meek, helpless creature whose sole purpose seems to be to uncover the manor mystery for us. I find this unfortunate since Mia Wasikowska is one of those actresses with beautiful understatement and emotional strength, and a bit more substance for her to work with would have been nice. Same goes for Tom Hiddleston. He succeeds in portraying the charming, tall and handsome stranger, but has to present a rather unconvincing development of his character towards the end of the film. Charlie Hunnam, as Edith’s secret admirer Dr. Alan McMichael, is the knight in shining armour, and that’s all there is to him.
It is Jessica Chastain as Lady Lucille who really steals the show. When the narrative focus shifts to her character in the final act, the film picks up pace and reaches a dynamic, captivating conclusion, in which even Edith’s self-esteem is ready to return. Chastain’s portrayal is calm and repressed, yet freaked and discomforting. She makes the most of a plot twist that I saw coming from miles away, and is ready to be fully wrapped up in lunacy. Fortunately, she doesn’t feel the need to resort to exaggerated fits of laughter or gaping eyes. Lucille’s craziness is dry, wonderfully wicked and even self-empowering.
Del Toro’s homage to gothic horror succeeds in evoking immersive visuals and paying tribute to genre classics of old. Unfortunately, a bunch of not-too-interesting core characters and a mostly too conventional approach to the material can occasionally result in a rather tedious viewing experience. And while the ghosts fail to stir my blood, Crimson Peak shines most in its finale in which it’s the human characters that leap down their respective spiritual abysses.
Wesley Earl “Wes” Craven, the legendary director of numerous horror classics such as Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street, succumbed to brain cancer on Sunday at the age of 76. For that reason, we would like to dedicate this Manic Monday to him and his nightmarish creations. Below you will find a list of Craven's movies and a collection of some of his best scenes that will help you understand why Wes Craven is and always will be the Master of Horror.
A pair of teenage girls are headed to a rock concert for one's birthday. While trying to score marijuana in the city, the girls are kidnapped by a gang of psychotic convicts.
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
On the way to California, a family has the misfortune to have their car break down in an area closed to the public, and inhabited by violent savages ready to attack.
Deadly Blessing (1981)
This film is set in Amish Country, at a local farm, where a woman's husband is mysteriously killed by his own tractor!
Swamp Thing (1982)
After a violent incident with a special chemical, a research scientist is turned into a swamp plant monster.
A family moves to a suburban town only to be coerced into joining a suspicious club.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
In the dreams of his victims, a spectral child murderer stalks the children of the members of the parents that killed him.
The Hills Have Eyes part 2 (1985)
A group of bikers, which includes some of the survivors from the original film, embark on a journey by bus to a biker race near the desert of the infamous incidents. However, because of a mistake they are late and decide to take a shortcut through the desert.
Deadly Friend (1986)
Paul is a new kid in town with a robot named "BB". He befriends Samantha and the three of them have a lot of good times together. That is, until Samantha's abusive father throws her down some stairs and kills her.
An anthropologist goes to Haiti after hearing rumors about a drug used by black magic practitioners to turn people into zombies.
Shocker (1989)
After being sent to the electric chair, a serial killer uses electricity to come back from the dead and carry out his vengeance on the football player who turned him in to the police.
The People Under the Stairs (1991)
Two adults and a juvenile burglar break into a house occupied by a brother and sister and their stolen children and can't escape.
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
A demonic force has chosen Freddy Krueger as its portal to the real world. Can Heather play the part of Nancy one last time and trap the evil trying to enter our world?
Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
Maximillian is the only survivor from a race of vampires on a
Caribbean Island, and as a vampire, he must find a mate to keep
the line from ending. He knows that a child had been born to a
woman who had a vampire father, and he searches for her in
Brooklyn.
Scream (1996)
A killer known as Ghostface begins killing off teenagers, and as the body count begins rising, one girl and her friends find themselves contemplating the "Rules" of horror films as they find themselves living in a real-life one.
Wishmaster (1997)
A demonic djinn attempts to grant its owner three wishes, which will allow him to summon his brethren to earth.
Scream 2 (1997)
Two years after the events of the first film, a new psychopath dons the "Ghost face" costume and a new string of murders begin.
Carnival of Souls (1998)
A young girl witnesses the brutal rape and murder of her mother
by a circus clown and begins to have nightmares when the carnival comes back to town when she is an adult.
Music of the Heart (1999)
Story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.
Scream 3 (2000)
Ghostface pays Sidney and her friends a third visit while they visit the set of "Stab 3", the third movie based upon the Woodsboro murders.
Dracula 2000 (2000)
A group of thieves break into a chamber expecting to find paintings, but instead they release the count himself, who travels to New Orleans to find his nemesis' daughter, Mary Van Helsing.
Cursed (2005)
A werewolf loose in Los Angeles changes the lives of three young
adults, who, after being mauled by the beast, learn they must
kill their attacker if they hope to change their fate to avoid becoming
A woman is kidnapped by a stranger on a routine flight. Threatened by the potential murder of her father, she is pulled into a plot to assist her captor in offing a politician.
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
A suburban American family is being stalked by a group of psychotic people who live in the desert, far away from civilization.
The Breed (2006)
A group of five college kids are forced to match wits with unwelcoming residents when they fly to a "deserted" island for a party weekend.
Paris, Je T’aime (2006)
While visiting Père Lachaise Cemetery, a young woman breaks up
with her fiancé, who then redeems himself with the aid of advice
Patrons locked inside of a bar are forced to fight monsters.
The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)
A group of National Guard trainees find themselves battling against a vicious group of mutants on their last day of training in the desert.
The Last House on the Left (2009)
After kidnapping and brutally assaulting two young women, a gang led by a prison escapee unknowingly finds refuge at a vacation home belonging the parents of one of the victims.
My Soul to Take (2010)
A serial killer returns to his hometown to stalk seven children who share the same birthday as the date he was allegedly put to rest.
Cast: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassie Scerbo, Frankie Muniz, Ryan Newman, David Hasselhoff, Mark Cuban, Bo Derek
Nova: I'm going to kill all of 'em, every last one of 'em. Fin: We’ve tried that three times. Didn't seem to work.
"Oh hell yes!" must've been my reaction when I first heard that there was going to be another Sharknado flick. It's a franchise I enjoy quite a bit. I mean, if you've got a thing for movies bloated with bad special effects, cringe-worthy dialogues, second- to third-class actors and a refreshing absence of logic, this is the place to find it. Pair all this with a bunch of flying, blood-thirsty sharks spinning around in a tornado, and you're certain to have created a gem of trash cinema. And that's exactly what the first part is.
There already was a broad array of trashy shark films out there but when Sharknado was released two years ago, it felt special. It was insanely hilarious, absurd to the (fish)bone and terrible to look at. But, like it's most often the case with terrible things, it's hard to take your eyes off of such a train wreck of a movie because it's simply a blast to watch. A year later, Sharknado 2: The Second One – the name alone deserves some credit – did not manage to bring across the spontaneous and unexpected fun of its predecessor, but it came up trumps with a (j)awsome finale on the Empire State Building. Due to the massive popularity of the franchise, director Anthony C. Ferrante and writer Thunder Levin gathered once more in order to knock out a third part. The result, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No, shines with another inspiring tag line, but falls flat when it comes to mindless shark fun.
After having survived and terminated a sharknado in both Los Angeles and New York, surfer Fin (Ian Ziering) is honoured for his heroic deeds by the President of the United States (Mark Cuban). When oh-so-unexpectedly a sharknado hits the White House, Fin and the Commander-in-Chief slaughter their way through the flying carnivores. This, however, is not the end. More sharknados are heading towards the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando where Fin's re-married and pregnant wife April (Tara Reid), their daughter Claudia (Ryan Newman) and his mother-in-law May (Bo Derek) intend to spend a fun afternoon. While Fin tries to make his way to Florida to save his family, he encounters an old friend, Nova (Cassie Scerbo). With the help of Fin's father, retired NASA colonel Gil (David Hasselhoff), the two try to stop the biggest sharknado in history.
First of all, it's good to have them all back. Ian Ziering's Fin has become a kind of trash icon, and rightly so. The former Beverly Hills 90210 heartthrob plays him so wonderfully straight that the ridiculous situations his character is placed in, for example being presented with the New York Order of the Golden Chainsaw, come across as even more hilarious. Tara Reid, once more, demonstrates that acting really isn't what she should be doing – and we can all be glad that she's found an outlet for her non-existing talent in the Sharknado movies. Cassie Scerbo, who also appears in the original instalment, is certain to please fangirls and -boys. Especially since her Nova has transformed into a kick-ass warrior woman ready to take out some sharks at all costs. The way she jumps off caravans in slow-motion, wearing a weird mask and Tomb Raider-like gear sure is a sight to behold.
Cameo-wise Oh Hell No! is certain to impress as well. From German TV host Oliver Kalkhofe, Irish pop act Jedward, former Playboy bunnies Kendra Wilkinson and Holly Madison to singer Ne-Yo, television presenter Jerry Springer and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin – we're all bound to recognise at least one of these peeps.
I am, however, rather disappointed in The Hoff. The name alone is usually enough to make me flash a smile. His performance in Anaconda: Offspring (2008) is something that I still hold very dear. And while he works well with giant snakes, sharks don't seem to bring out the best in Hasselhoff. His portrayal lacked heartfelt exaggeration and honest silliness. If only he had brought all the cheese and camp to the role that he previously showed in his Broadway performance of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, the whole thing could've reached a new dimension of bad. As is, he's merely boring, and leaving potential untouched. The fact that the last we see of him is a smirk which he directs towards the camera while roaming the surface of the moon in a spacesuit, surrounded by sharks, is only a minor consolation.
Furthermore, Oh Hell No! looks way too polished for my taste. There's a posh montage featured in the opening credits. Sets include Universal Studios, a NASCAR race and, well, space! Instead of destroying only one city, the sharknados seem to make their way through the entire USA. Everything is stepped up a notch, which cannot achieve the natural trashiness of the predecessors. The third part tries too hard to be cheap while, at the same time, wanting to present conventional action coolness. Having Fin cling to his car door in the midst of a mighty storm might be ridiculous in itself; it is, however, made to look like a scene from a regular Die Hard movie. Where's the fun in that?
The worst thing about Oh Hell No! is its blatant patriotism, though. While The Second One effectively uses its New York setting as a way to comment on the city's toughness in face of a grave crisis, the third part feels like it has been cut out of a Michael Bay production. "God bless America" quotes, the exhausting use of the Star-Spangled Banner and, on top of this, a re-enactment of the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima photograph, this time with a shark impaled upon the rod – I'm not sure if I want my silly, innocent pastime politically charged in such a way and manner.
Yes, there are sharks, there's a tornado, the main characters are back, the cameos are fun – but, heck, we have all this in the previous two movies as well, without the annoying undertones and with a much higher factor of terribly delightful, hilariously abysmal bad. Next time, since, obviously, there's going to be a fourth one, don't try so hard, Sharknado! Leave your political agenda at home, fire up The Hoff, and let those badly animated sharks do the rest.
United States; 13 Episodes (Season 3); Horror, Drama, Thriller, Teendrama
Channel: FX
Creator: Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy
Cast: Kathy Bates, Frances Conroy, Taissa Farmiga, Jessica Lange, Denis O'Hare, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Emma Roberts
Fiona: You know why I got a female attack dog? Hank: Because bitches stick together?
It’s been a while since my last American Horror Story review, so it’s about high time to change that. Season 3 goes by the name of Coven and it reunites us with some of our favourite actors from previous seasons. It’s always thrilling to watch the title sequence of each pilot episode and look out for familiar names. And Coven doesn’t disappoint. The cast includes Sarah Paulson, Taissa Farmiga, Frances Conroy, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe and, of course, American Horror Story’s poster girl Jessica Lange. That alone should make every fan’s heart leap for joy. But apart from sporting great actors, can Coven also keep up with its predecessors in terms of plot?
The pilot episode with the brilliant name “Bitchcraft,” (which kind of captures the tone of the entire season) starts with young Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) trying to lose her virginity. Unbeknownst to her, she has a genetic affliction, dating back to her families’ Salem ancestors, which she knows nothing of either, that turns her into a kind of black widow with a killer vagina. Her partner dies of a brain aneurysm and Zoe is whisked off to a special school for people with a more or less similar condition.
And with that welcome to the AHS-version of Hogwarts, Ladies and Gentlemen. Granted, Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies is not quite as magical as Rowling’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but it nevertheless creates an atmosphere that is more fitting for a teen drama than a horror show. Governed by Headmistress Cordelia Fox (Sarah Paulson), the private school has only three other pupils aside from newbie Zoe: Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), a teen movie star, full of airs and graces and telekinetic powers; then Nan (Jamie Brewer), a girl with Down-Syndrome and the gift of clairvoyance; and finally there is Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe), an Afro-American girl, whose body works like a human voodoo doll.
Needless to say that with so many different (female) characters confined in one space we get to see witch- and bitchcraft in equal degrees – even more of both once Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange) makes her appearance. The mother of headmistress Cordelia is the Supreme, meaning the most powerful witch of all and head of the coven. And with so much power, of course there is nothing she fears more than losing it. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens, now that her so far unknown successor arises and begins to drain the life force from her. To prevent all this, Fiona is not only determined to get her rival out of the way, before she loses her remaining strength, but she desperately and in vain struggles for immortality and eternal youth. Ironically enough, however, many of the lesser witches and even some muggles around her attain it without even trying, which doesn’t exactly throw a favourable light on the prowess of the grand Supreme.
Apart from the conflicts within the coven, a feud with the Voodoo tribe led by Marie Laveau (Angela Basset) and a rather unpleasant dispute with a secret circle of witch hunters add some more spice, gore and horror to the series. Still every scene of horror is interlaced with comic relief of various kinds. This serves to keep the tone lighter than it was in the previous seasons, which is entertaining enough, but hardly fitting for the genre.
As you can tell from my previous reviews, I really, really love Murder House, and I also very much like the Asylum arc and, surprise, I also like Coven, though in a much lesser way than the previous two seasons. Murder House was scary, it had an intriguing plot and characters to fall in love with. Asylum flaunted the scary, gloomy bits and added a lot of suspense and gore and WTF-moments, and Coven…
Well, Coven did have its good points, but those weren’t really connected to scariness, as you would expect from a TV show that carries its genre right in its title. The focus this season was rather a gory kind of comicality. Coven is filled with grotesquely hilarious moments. Take for example the scene in which the disembodied head of the immortal racist and former slave owner Madame LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) starts crying while watching Roots. Or another one of my favourite scenes that blew ridiculousness way out of proportion was when the tongueless butler Spalding (Denis O’Hare) shows off his doll collection and flashes his fancy nightgown with a cute matching cap.
Coven is without a doubt more straightforward and less twisted than its predecessors, Asylum in particular which is a paramount example of a show with too many aspirations to fit into the limited screen time. On a whole, Season 3 seems to distance itself greatly from Asylum, as though the producers meant it to be its polar opposite, so the fans that have been scared off by the gloom and harshness of the second season could be brought in again with this much more cheerful and light-hearted type of horror story. However, by doing so the show moves away from its former working principles and moves closer to something like Glee. Just a little more bloody.
Coven really didn’t live up to my expectations: It was entertaining, often absurd, gross and hilarious, so not bad exactly, but it didn’t have the potential to keep you on a hook and make you want to watch the whole season in a single sitting. It seems that my love affair with the first season keeps me loyal to everything yet to come, though I really do hope that Freak Show will return to the aspects that made Murder Houseso intriguing: the mixture of horror, a strong plot and especially strong, authentic characters.
Fran Darabont, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Robert Kirkman
Starring
Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Lauren Cohan, Chad L. Coleman, Michael Cudlitz, Jeffrey DeMunn, Danai Gurira, Laurie Holden, Emily Kinney, Andrew Lincoln, Melissa McBride, David Morissey, Norman Reedus, Chandler Riggs, Michael Rooker, Scott Wilson, Steven Yeun
Guest Stars Worth Mentioning
Synopsis
Based on the eponymous comic book series by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead deals with the fate of a group of survivors in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. They search for someplace safe, but the masses of “biters” and “walkers” make that a nearly impossible endeavour.
Yay or nay?
The Walking Dead is the ideal show for fans of World War Z or the Resident Evil movies and video games. But even if you haven’t (yet) succumbed to the current zombie hype, the show provides you with lots of drama, love triangles and of course many an action scene that’ll make your heart beat faster.
