Bad Comparison Claims

I wanted to talk a little bit today about movies, in specific the complaints about them revolving around one movie ripping off another. There are some pretty out there comparisons.

For instance someone described Darkness Falls as a rip-off of the Friday the 13th movies. You know that a flying old dead hag wearing a white mask who can't enter the light for fear of bursting into flames is exactly like a movie about a guy who eventually dons a hockey mask, becomes undead, and throughout life, death, undeath kills people for being naughty. Pretty broad comparison there if you ask me.

Someone making one of the documentaries about the original Halloween decided that Evil Dead is a Halloween rip-off because you know, people trapped in the woods fighting demonically possessed people and corpses is exactly like a movie about a guy in a mask killing babysitters. Never mind the fact that Evil Dead is actually to some degree an homage to Night of the Living Dead and not a rip-off of that even.

The other day I saw another ludicrous comparison. The Manitou is a rip-off of the Exorcist because you know that a woman with a tumour on her neck that's actually an embryo of a reincarnated Native American medicine man bent on destroying modern day white people is exactly like the story of a girl suffering from demonic possession. Wow, the similarity is just uncanny. Come on people.

Don't let these baseless accusations slide. No one likes a mean dismissal of their thoughts, so kindly and gently educate if you see something outrageous like this. As smart places on the web say, don't address the poster, don't make it personal, just state the big differences in these movies. Remember, only you can prevent flame wars.

On the other hand don't be afraid of pointing out the really close ones like say (and I cannot recommend anyone actually watch this movie) The Astronaut's Wife, which is very similar to Rosemary's Baby. I'm not even saying that closeness is itself an issue, just that unlike the other examples it's pretty clear. My issue with the movie is what I consider it's lack of quality, which is neither here nor there, and some people may like it.

I hear recent The Roommate is much like Single White Female from years back. So what. I don't have a problem with that. It's just this idea that everything is a rip-off and thus bad and should be, I don't know, blocked, banned, or burned that gets me--of course compounded by blatant mistakes in the similarity. I guess that's all I have to say about this now. Next time, my take on remakes.

Mood: spleeny.
Music: The Ripper by Iced Earth and Let Me Hear You Scream by Ozzy Osbourne.

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13 Nights of Hallowe'en: Night #4 The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The theme of this year’s thirteen nights seems to be comparison.
The second word in the title of tonight’s movie is all that anyone needs to start making comparisons. Tonight the movie choice is “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”. This movie is anything but an “Exorcist” rip. The movie’s creators bill the film as a supernatural court drama. They take the idea a bit too far in the extras claiming it as the first. While the focus may be tighter on the court scenes, it’s certainly not the first time the supernatural has affected the courts in movies. Sam Raimi’s “The Gift” is a prime example. Even going back to “Amityville Horror II: The Possession” we have possession on trial. Still, it was a good idea and gave the film an excellent grounding upon which to build its supernatural ideas.

“The Exorcism of Emily Rose” is something of a joy to watch. The story is one divided into two timelines. In the past is the actual story of Emily Rose, a college student suffering with a demonic possession. Here is meat of the horror for the film. It is told through flashbacks in the current timeline of the film. Father Moore was the priest tasked with Emily’s exorcism and after her death is charged with negligent homicide. Emily’s ordeal is definitely not a rehash of previous possession. Some bits at the start bear some resemblance to some haunting stories in parts, but this is not uncommon in the initial stages of possession cases. The entire story is based on a true story for what that is worth, but the message of Emily’s story is definitely worth something.

Mood: content.
Music: Haunted by Poe off of Haunted.

The Fear Relegated to Thrillers

Sorry about the last two times. I was sick and then I was trying to get over the after affects of being so sick. I thought it was only fitting that coming back I should talk about illness as one of the fears used in horror stories. For some reason, as frightening as real illness is and the fact that there are some really horrific diseases and medical conditions out there, illness is generally relegated to thrillers instead of more mainstream horror.

Some illnesses certainly lend themselves to thrillers, such as those spread on purpose as a biological weapon. Others like mysterious plagues could go either way depending upon on the nature of the plague. Certainly supernatural plagues or diseases lend themselves to horror stories better. A stand out in that arena would be a book like Graham Masterton's Night Plague. Of course we cannot forget the absolute biggest disease in horror, though only select stories refer to it as such. That disease is called vampirism.

Diseases of the mind crop up in horror stories now and then. The most famous of these toes the line between mental disease and actual supernatural phenomenon. That illness of the mind is called possession. The best thing about the novel over the story for The Exorcist is that novel never really settles on whether or not Regan is actually possessed or if it's all in her head. Certainly the telekinetic goings on do not prove anything given that in the framework of the story it could be either the demon or just a case of RSPK (recurrent spontaneous psycho-kinesis) presenting itself as just another symptom.

It is apparent that sickness can go either way, so we are left with the question, just why is it that it doesn't appear in horror more often? Does the audience—readership or viewership—prefer to avoid it because it's too real (excepting when it isn't) or do the writers—authors or screenwriters—just not want to craft such stories? What do you think?

Mood: animated.
Music: A Tyranny of Souls by Bruce Dickinson and Fright Night by Stratovarius.

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