Wormed (pardon the pun) my way into another sneak peak last night. This time it was Sam Raimi's new horror film "Drag Me to Hell." It was exactly what you would expect from Raimi- lots of sick, twisted humor mixed with moments of sheer terror. It was very much in the vein of "Evil Dead 2." If you haven't seen that flick then think Three Stooges meet Poltergeist. If you're like me and a longtime fan of the ED films then this movie is for you.
I have sort of an interesting history with Raimi. I'm a reluctant fan. When ED2 came out I had a buddy that insisted we see that movie. Even though a "zombie flick" was the last thing on my list to see I had nothing better to do so I gave in. What followed was one of the best experiences I'd ever had at the cinema. The crowd watching the movie with us was rowdier than hell, making the film a participatory experience akin to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" sans toast.
Probably my favorite autobiography is Bruce Campbell's "If Chins Could Kill." There's something so quintessentially American about the story of Rob Tappert, Sam Raimi and Campbell as they pushed their way into the film industry in their late teens. They didn't know what the hell they were doing. They had no formal training. They just had a love of film combined with enough naivete to think it was easy to break in to the business. The fact that all three of those guys got to be successful in their own way tickles me to no end.
Raimi is an incredibly gifted filmmaker so it's been kind of sad to see him burn himself out on the Spiderman franchise. The last film in particular stunk of studio meddling and creative battles lost. Many fans were wondering when Raimi would get back to his old school, low budget style of film. Raimi's triumphant answer to that question is "Drag Me to Hell."
I can't think of the last movie I saw that was as attuned as this one as to the audience reaction it wants to invoke. Not the ephemeral sentimentality of your average film snob waiting in line at the Sundance festival for swag. I'm talking about your popcorn chewing knucklehead who is willing to throw down 10 bucks of their hard earned cast to be entertained. This film is self-conscious entertainment with a capitol "E."
Allison Lohman plays Christine Brown a bank mortgage officer who denies a loan extension to an old gypsy woman. In revenge the old woman curses Christine. Over the course of three days she will be tortured by an evil spirit until she is literally dragged to hell. Unless she can find some way to lift the curse...
Most of the reviews of this flick up at Rotten Tomatoes are positive but Rex Reed of all people posits that the central plot is razor thin thus the film is too mainstream. Yes, the film doesn't sway much from it's main story but to say the film is mainstream is supremely stupid. One of the joys of "Drag Me to Hell" is chock full of stuff that you would never see in a big budget Hollywood film. No thing and no person is safe in this movie. There are things that happen to children and animals (off camera) that would send your average studio executive running from a screening room to take a shower.
That isn't to say this film is in the mold of modern torture porn horror. It's not. The gross stuff in this movie isn't much worse than what you'd see watching "Fringe" or "House." The gross stuff usually follows a jump scare and is intentionally calculated to turn a scream into a quick laugh. I had no problem watching this flick with my 15-year old daughter who isn't usually a fan of horror. She loved the movie more than I did, which is to say a whole heck of a lot.
Finally- for fellow fans of Sam Raimi - The Classic figures prominently in this film. I chuckle everytime I see that car in his movies.
* Link to the person who tagged you. * Leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours. * Post the rules on your blog. * Share the seven (7) most famous or infamous people you have met. Or go with the original 7 weird things about yourself. Or with Sandra's change and list your 7 favorite writing websites. Lots of choices! * Tag 7 random people at the end of your post. * Include links to their blogs. * Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
I’m going with 7 famous people.
Bruce Campbell Bruce was showing his film Bubba Ho-Tep around at various venues in 2002 to interest a distributor. Dean Wormer and Misses Dean were kind enough to invite me and the SO along. We waited for hours outside the Hollywood Theater in the cold to get in. Well, the gals waited outside as Dean and I got to go inside and wait in another line to do a meet and greet with the B-Movie legend before the film started. I had brought my DVD copy of The Evil Dead for Bruce to sign. While there, I decided to buy a hardback copy of his book If Chins Could Kill. I thought: “hey, why not get two things signed.” Well just before I got to meet him the crew told me that Mr. Campbell only signs one thing per fan. Oh well, I did want to read his book at some point.
Bruce was very nice and shook my hand and I sat and talked with him a few moments. As he signed my DVD with “Stay Groovy.” I mentioned that I really enjoyed his mini doc Fanalysis that was on the DVD and wondered if he was going to do another one. He said that they had something in the works. I never saw it but I’m sure it ended up on some DVD. I then blabbered some dumb crap about myself that he could have cared less about, but I was feeling ill so I wasn’t thinking clearly. I did have the good sense to say that I enjoyed his work and wished him well before I left.
Mr. Campbell was nice of enough to meet all the folks that had waited to get something signed, so nice in fact that the showing of Bubba Ho-Tep was delayed much to the dismay of our spouses waiting outside in the cold. Eventually, we all sat down together and, after a lively introduction by Mr. Campbell, enjoyed the film.
Erin Grey I think it was in 1998 when Erin Grey stopped by Portland during a comic convention. I had a big crush on her when I was in grade school because of her staring role as Wilma Deering on the Buck Rodgers TV show. You know the one that was a little too disco for it’s own good right? Well, as the years went by I realized that she was the best part of that program (well, her and Doctor Theopolis that is) so; when she came to Portland I decided to meet her.
When I got to the comic show, I realized I was actually a little nervous, which was strange because it’s not like she was mega famous anymore but, maybe it was due to the fact that hardly anybody ever came to Portland. She looked great, Erin had taken care of herself over the years and she reminded me of one of those hot moms. I talked to her a little bit and asked if she had anything coming out, and she responded that she up for a role and she hoped she was going to get it. That made me a little sad because I think that Grey is good actor, but Buck Rogers typecast her. She was seriously considered for the role of Janeway on Star Trek Voyager. How awesome would that have been?
I bought a signed copy of one her Buck Rogers pictures and I also bought a copy of her book Act Right. Incidentally, it was at this convention that I realized the Portland Comic book show was held in really awful space, the basement of the Memorial Coliseum. I felt a little ashamed that guests had come from all over the place and were stuck in this dank, dark dungeon. And Sure enough, she never came back to Portland just like all the other media guests that have come for the convention.
Will Eisner Yes, the godfather of American comics and the creator of the Spirit actually came to Portland once thanks to Dark Horse Comics. In august 2000, Things From Another World (Mike Richardson’s other company) hosted the meet and greet with the grandmaster. He was obviously in town to convene with the Dark Horse bunch and it was a simple matter for him to cross the street for the event at the comic shop.
I was having trouble deciding what to have him sign, but I ended up bringing the first two volumes of the Spirit Archives that had just been published previously that year. I arrived early with my niece and we ended up being the first in line. My niece didn’t have a clue who Eisner was but I hoped that someday she’d realize how special it was to meet him, although I’m still not holding my breath.
When Will Eisner came into the shop, he looked just like I thought he would, like a kindly grandfather. He was very affable and was very happy to sign my copies of the Sprit archives especially since he hadn’t seen them yet. When he recognized that Alan Moore wrote the forward, he examined fondly “Oh Alan!”
My niece got mildly annoyed because he kept confusing her name with the name of one his great-granddaughters, but I had great time. I would have loved to chitchat with him but the line was already very long. I had my picture taken with Will and I used one of those disposable cameras, which I promptly lost. Oh well, it was great to meet one of my comic creator heroes particularly given that he passed away a few years later in 2005.
Linda Harrison Linda played Nova in the first two Planet of the Apes films which are part of my favorite Science Fiction film series of all time, so there was no way I was gonna’ pass up seeing her. She came to Portland in 2004 (I think?) to the Portland comic convention.
I hauled along my Niece again, she didn’t know who Linda was either but I figured she might watch the Planet of the Apes movies eventually. Linda was very nice and agreed to have a picture taken with my niece. As you can see from the shot, she looked great. I bought and had her sign one of her photographs. It was she, the cast and the crew from the first POTA film. Everybody was on the beach where they shot the scene in which Dr. Zaius gets tied up. When I later took to look at the picture, I realized that everybody in that photo was dead expect for Linda Harrison and “Chuck” Heston.
Cat Yronwode Author, critic, hippie, and sex magic promoter, Cat Yronwode, has worn many hats throughout her life but I knew none of that when I went to see the Eclipse Comics booth back in 1985 or 86. At that time, she was the editor-in-chief of one of my favorite comic companies and that was good enough for me as a pimply-faced teen. Being a huge fan of Eclipse Comics because they published lots of different genres, I collected many of their titles and I couldn’t believe they were actually coming to Portland. Plus, I had read many of cat’s editorials so meeting her personally was something I built up in my mind.
When I first got to the Eclipse table, Cat Yronwode wasn’t there but she soon walked up with some Eclipse titles in hand. She commented to her crew how she was able to find some good back issues to add to their library. I knew what she was talking about because Eclipse had been flooded out a few years before and all their back issues were lost. Cat then sat right down and began interacting with the fans.
Now being a celebrity novice, I didn’t realize that bringing a ginormous stack of comics for her to sign was a pretty rude thing to do. But she was very cool about it and said something nice about what great fan I must be. I realized my mistake when Dean Mullaney, Eclipse’s publisher, said he was only going to autograph one title and suggested she do the same. She ignored him and went right on putting her name on all my Scout comics, Miracle Man comics and Alien Encounters comics (my three favorite titles). Then, when she was done, she handed me one of the Eclipse Comics metal buttons they were selling because I was such a big fan. I wore that button proudly for many years before I stored it away someplace.
Cat Yronwode became one of my favorite comic book people that day. She treated me so nicely when she could have totally blown me off. Cat didn’t and so created a very loyal Eclipse Comics fan. I always felt she was the major reason that Eclipse had been such a success in the 1980s. Eclipse Comics went out of business in 1994, but she had left in 1993. What does that tell you?
I met Paul Chadwick, the creator of Concrete, in 2005. He was nice enough to do an on camera interview:
Mike Richardson Mike Richardson is the founder of Dark Horse Comics. Back when the company was first starting out in 1986, Dark Horse always had a booth at the Portland Comic Book Show and Mike was often there. He was a soft-spoken, easygoing sort of guy that was happy to meet the fans. Nowadays, Mike’s a bigwig with 300, Sin City, and Hellboy, being huge media successes so he has no need to slum it with the little folk or modest comic book conventions that take place in dank dungeons, but this year he is gonna’ be at the Stumptown Comics Fest, so I think this newer, homegrown convention has, shall we say, arrived?
I’m just gonna tag Lady Bug… I broke the rules… sorry Moody...
I was thinking about how Bruce Campbell was being labeled the 13th coldest person in Hollywood by film threat (here) when I suddenly realized that, not only do these folks not know what the hell they’re talking about when it comes to Campbell (‘cause they’re spot on when comes to Nicolas Cage), but that Bruce is too old to play Ash again. Fans have been pining away for years for a sequel to Army of Darkness, which of course was really Evil Dead III, but as Campbell has stated on many occasions AoD didn’t make enough money, so there ain’t gonna be a sequel. Well, never say never, but a greater problem at this point is Bruce Campbell’s age. He doesn’t look like Ashley anymore, He looks like Ashley’s dad. A new Evil Dead/AoD film with Bruce as the lead would just be sad. It seems like it would be disrespectful to the character and to Bruce IMO.
BUT… after reading the AoD comics for a couple of years now by Dynamite Entertainment (which are fantastic by the way) I’ve come to realize that I really do miss the character on the big screen or the small screen for that matter. There’re too many untold Deadite stories and not enough fights between the forces of the book of the Dead and Ashley J. Williams. We need some sort of AoD film or video.
There are only two ways to do it at this point. One, you make an animated film or TV show. Or 2, you bring back Bruce Campbell in a supporting role as the old burned out chosen one that has to train the new dorky, inexperienced chosen one. Personally I’m leaning towards an animated project ‘cause then we could just have Campbell do the voice work and voilà, Ash is back. Maybe a trilogy of 3 movies would be cool although I know I would really prefer an animated TV show but I’m worried it would get cancelled. Better to compete the story then be left hanging. A live action film with an Old Ash has some advantages too in that we’d actually get to see Campbell acting again but also it’s closer to the sprit of the original movies. I’m seeing a Popeye – Pappy kinda relationship.
Well, that’s my Evil Dead 2-cents for a while. We’ll never get either project, but I guess, in a small way, I’m doing my own pining away for the AoD franchise. At least I’ve still got the comics right? ...And Campbell's "They Call Me Bruce" for that matter.
On an unrelated note did you know that AoD was called Captain Supermarket in Japan?!
I was reading Wizard Magazine and what did I see an advertisement for? …Evil Dead the Musical! Wow, how did I miss this? Ash is back and he’s singing and dancing while killing deadites. The Evil Dead films are perfect for a musical adaptation; I think it’s a great idea! If you go, though, be prepared to get splattered with blood, especially if you're in the first four rows. I’ll have to get the soundtrack ASAP. Apparently the NYC version of the Show closed (sniff), but a Toronto version is opening May 1st. The show has the Bruce Campbell stamp of approval so it must be good, right? I hope we get Evil Dead the Musical out here in Pacific Northwest someday.
Wormed (pardon the pun) my way into another sneak peak last night. This time it was Sam Raimi's new horror film "Drag Me to Hell." It was exactly what you would expect from Raimi- lots of sick, twisted humor mixed with moments of sheer terror. It was very much in the vein of "Evil Dead 2." If you haven't seen that flick then think Three Stooges meet Poltergeist. If you're like me and a longtime fan of the ED films then this movie is for you.
