We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes

Halloween Countdown: #3 Psycho

One word: Classic. This film really does have everything; intriguing story, wonderful score and one of the most iconic scenes in movie history. Psycho (1960) is simply a fantastic film that seems to get better with every watch.

So why have I ranked it at No.3 rather than No.1? Argh, that's tricky to answer. Psycho, along with my numbers 1&2, was part of my introduction to scary movies. I have a fondness for it that I don't have with a lot of the other films. It does really tick a lot of boxes for me, but the other two films in my countdown are just that little bit closer to my heart than this. This isn't to say that Psycho isn't a brilliant film, because it is; it's probably my favourite Hitchcock film, next to The Birds. 

Once again, it's my duty to say:  

 Ok, let's move on!

The plot of Psycho is very intriguing as it changes direction mid-film. We're led to believe that Marion (Janet Leigh) is going to be the main character who's story (stealing $40 000 from her boss in order to pursue a life with boyfriend Sam) we're going to follow, but she's not. Marion is killed off pretty early on in that infamous shower scene and the story takes a whole different path; one that's not fully explained until the very end of the film. This occurence is calld a MacGuffin. Wiki explains: Usually the MacGuffin is the central focus of the film in the first act and then declines in importance as the struggles and motivations of characters play out. This defines Marion's role perfectly. The film isn't about her, she's just the catalyst that sets everything into motion.  

Psycho's main character is actually Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), the mild mannered motel owner. I think Anthony Perkins really steals the show in this film due to Norman being so multifaceted (literally!). Perkins really does seem to capture every aspect of him and he makes such an intriguing watch. Initially, Norman appears to be exceptionally well mannered and very hospitable. When Marion arrives at his motel on a very rainy night, Norman seems to be falling over himself to accommodate her. He's extremely friendly and wastes no time in settling her into her motel room; even inviting her up to his house for something to eat after she decides against driving back out in the pouring rain to the nearest diner. It's clear that Norman has taken a shine to Marion already and is relishing the opportunity to spend time alone with her (there are no other guests at the motel). At this point, Norman comes across as a generally nice guy; which makes the snippet we hear of the life he's (presumably) living, quite tragic.

The conversation between Marion and Norman, in his parlour, is quite pivotal in the grand scheme of things. It is here that we get an insight into Norman's background and character. It turns out that his life revolves around his sick, housebound mother, with a small portion devoted to running the motel. At the most, Norman has a taxidermy hobby, although he admits that it's more of a time filler than a time killer. Marion probes him, curious to know whether there's anything beyond his mother and the motel, but there isn't. This exchange sums it up:

Marion: Do you go out with friends?

Norman: Well, a boy's best friend is his mother 

Norman's relationship with his mother is then explored in a little more detail. We'd already overheard an argument between the two while Norman had gone to prepare the upper. His mother voiced a strong objection to him bringing Marion up to the house and ridiculed him for an ulterior motive. Marion comments about the vicious way Norman's mother had spoken to him and the conversation turns to their life together. Norman explains that his mother was left to raise Norman by herself after his father had died, inferring that it was a struggle. He then goes on to say that his mother eventually met a new man who "talked her into building this motel", however he died too and it was too much for his mother to cope with. This threw Norman into the role of permanent carer and he admits how sometimes he wishes he could leave his mother and remove himself from the suffocating relationship. Marion then clumsily suggests putting the mother "someplace", but Norman knows exactly what she's saying and the first flash of the 'Psycho' within is evident. Norman's entire demeanor changes in an instant and he becomes angry, defensive and slightly crazed. He berates Marion for the suggestion of putting his mother into "a madhouse"

Norman: Have you ever seen the inside of one of those places? The laughing and the tears! And the cruel eyes studying you. My mother there?

Marion is suitably unnerved by Norman's sudden rage and tries her best to defuse the conversation by stating that she "meant well". Norman gives a bitter retort, but eventually calms down and admits that he's had similar thoughts. He still excuses his mother's behaviour though with one of the film's well known lines:

Norman: It's not as if she's a maniac, a raving thing. She just goes a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes 

This line finally shakes Marion out of her own (temporary) insanity of stealing her boss's money and she makes a decision to go back home to try and pull herself out of her own "private trap"  while she still can. Unfortunately for her, she never gets the opportunity to do this as she is murdered shortly after this conversation with Norman.

As Marion bids Norman goodnight, we get to see yet another side to his character: Norman the Pervert. It was clear as soon as he met her, that Norman was attracted to Marion. He was desperate to please her and stressed his desire to be on first name term with her. However, after their supper conversation, Norman's interest in her is taken into sinister territory as he reveals a spyhole in the wall (hidden by a picture) that gives him a direct look into Marion's motel room. He watches her intently as she walks around the room in her underwear. The expression on Norman's face suggests he knows what he's doing is wrong, but his continual isolation from the outside world is driving this behaviour. However, being a peeping Tom is the least of Norman's problems after the shower scene.

You don't have to have seen the film in order to be familiar with the shower scene. It's held up as one of the most iconic scenes in film history. Just like Jaws stopped people going into the water, Psycho created a fear in people over getting in the shower! The scene itself, although short, is very well done. The trick here is that the camera never actually shows anything explicit; the murder is shown in short, sharp shots and is over before you know and the assumed killer is only seen in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot. The terror is generated by 1) The unpredictability of the murder and 2) The music accompanying it. Kudos to composer Bernard Herrmann as he definitely made Psycho's score memorable. As soon as the shower curtain is yanked back, the piercing sound of the violins kick in and the adrenaline starts rushing. 

In the aftermath of the murder, all signs point to Norman's mother being responsible. Norman is visibly shaken when confronted with the murder scene, but his subsequent actions once again show another layer to him. He  tries his best to cover up the murder in order to protect his mother, or rather that's what we're led to believe when watching Norman being a "dutiful son". So he dumps Marion and everything connected with her into the nearby swamp, never to be seen again. Of course, Marion's disappearance doesn't go away and soon Norman's drawn back into the situation when Private Investigator Arbogast manages to trace Marion's movements to the motel. 

The conversation between Norman and Arbogast seals both their fates, albeit in different ways. Arbogast gets more than he bargained for when he pushes too far in his investigation and his demise at the hands of Norman's mother just makes Marion's loved ones (sister Lila and boyfriend Sam) all the more determined to discover what Norman is hiding. Norman had fobbed Arbogast off with a half truths about Marion turning up at the motel and then leaving the next morning, however Arbogast can see there's more to Norman's story and continues to probe him for information he's reluctant to give. Arbogast's interrogation of Norman, although gentle, is enough to unnerve Norman and he becomes anxious, stuttering a lot and generally coming across as very unconvincing in his story. However, once Arbogast touches on the subject of his mother, Norman becomes defensive again and  firmly denies Arbogast access to question her. Arbogast realises that he's "got all there is to get" but his dsire to join the dots leads him to secretly returning to the Bates' house in ordere to swerve Norman and find out key information from his mother. Unfortunately, he becomes another victim as he's caught by surprise when Mrs Bates emerges from her room brandishing a knife. Once again, it's back to the swamp for Norman to dump body No.2.

Arbogast's sudden disappearance, along with Marion's, just spurs Lila and Sam on. They visit Sheriff Chambers to see if he can help them track down Arbogast. They mention Norman and Marion's disappearance, so the Sheriff calls Norman. Norman spins the same yarnn to the Sheriff about Marion turning up and leaving, also claiming that Arbogast turned up, did his questioning and left too. Sam and Lila know there's something not right with Norman's claims so they question the Sheriff about Norman's ill mother who Arbogast had previously referred to. And so comes a key bit of information: Norman's mother has been dead for 10 years. She apparently murdered her new partner and then killed herself, leaving Norman to discover them dead together. Lila and Sam are left in disbelief as they stress that Arbogast had seen the shadow of an old women in the Bates' window, with even Norman himself continually referring to his mother. The Sheriff is obviously puzzled, so decides to visit Norman himself the following day (off-screen). In the meantime, Norman senses the net may be closing in and decides to confine his mother within the fruit cellar in order to keep her hidden from anybody else.

By this point, it's safe to assume what the reality of the situation between Norman and his mother is; Mrs Bates is never properly seen, only heard and Norman is determined to keep her shielded from the outside world. Something clearly isn't right and this is finally fully exposed during the climax of the film. Sam and Lila, still unsatisfied with the response from Norman, decide to visit the motel themselves to personally investigate. Norman's attitude when he meets them is a far cry from the super nice 'n' friendly persona that Marion saw. Norman is very casual and laid back, with a small degree of cockiness. He blatantly doesn't believe Sam and Lila are husband and wife en route to a business trip, but goes with anyway. The scene between the three seems to have an unintentional comical air to it as Sam's attempt to be covert is frankly laughable. He is way too intense and his suspicion of Norman is evident. This carries on when he later distracts Norman with a talk while Lila makes her way to the house to confront Mrs Bates. Sam is just terrible at playing it cool and he gets Norman's back up rather fast.  As Norman becomes increasingly nervous, Sam ditches the act and confronts Norman with his suspicions, stating that him and Lila are going to get the full story from his mother. Norman flies into a panic and, after knocking Sam out, tears back to the house in order to stop Lila finding his mother.

Lila manages to see Norman frantically returning and hides herself under the stairs. As Norman races up them, Lila notices the door to the cellar and decides to go through it. As Lila makes her way through the cellar, she eventually fins Mrs Bates; and in another classic Psycho moment, Mrs Bates is reveled to be a skeleton and the mobile Mrs Bates we've seen is actually Norman, dressed up as her. As Lila gives a piercing scream and the shower scene music reprises, Norman arrives in the cellar with a cry of "I'm Norman Bates" in his mother's voice. As he advances on Lila, Sam appears in the nick of time and manages to overpower him. 

Norman's story is then fully explained by the psychiatrist who's assessed him after Norman's secret life has now been brought to the attention of the police. The psychiatrist explains, for the benefit of the audience, exactly what's has happened to Norman. He confirms that Norman was responsible for the murders of Marion and Arbogast (and two other missing girls), but stresses that although Norman was physically responsible, mentally it was his mother carrying out the killings. Norman was actually responsible for his mother's death as he killed her (and her lover) in a fit of jealousy. Unable to cope with the guilt, Norman had stolen his mother's corpse and began to live half his life as her: thinking and speaking for her - his mind contained two different personalities that he had to constantly switch between in order to "keep up the illusion of his mother being alive". His dressing up happened whenever "reality got too close" and the illusion was on the brink of being shattered. This is why Arbogast was killed, but Marion was killed due to Norman's belief that because he killed his mother's lover due to jealousy, his mother would react the same way. 

As the psychiatrist puts it: 

"And because he was so pathologically jealous of her, he assumed she was as jealous of him. Therefore, if he felt a strong attraction to any other woman, the mother side of him would go wild. When he met (Marion), he was touched by her, aroused by her, he wanted her. That set off the jealous mother and mother killed the girl"

The psychiatrist closes by stating that the overbearing mother half of Norman's mind has fully taken over now. He also assures everyone that Marion wasn't killed for the $40 000 she had as "These were crimes of passion, not profit". I have to say that this scene with the shrink is my personal favourite scene. There's a direct, matter-of-factness about him that is really quite amusing. He gets so passionate in his explanation, he's compelling to listen to. 

The closing scene to Psycho is very chilling as we hear "Mother's" thoughts about how everything has turned out. She shifts responsibility onto Norman, saying that she can do nothing except "sit and stare, like one of his stuffed birds" so could not possible be capable of murder. She intends to prove how harmless is to the authorities by not showing any signs of anger or aggression at all; refusing to even swat a fly because "They'll see and they'll know and they'll say - why she wouldn't even harm a fly". This scene is particularly effective as the camera is focused on Perkins and his facial expressions say it all. The closing line about the fly wouldn't be half as effective if it wasn't coupled with Norman's fantastic, sinister look right to the camera. Perkins really seems to have captured pure madness in the last shot. Add to this, a brief glimpse of the skull of his mother that faintly merges with Norman's face and he ending couldn't be more fitting.

One reason I love Psycho so much is because of the dialogue. I think all the characters bounce off each other in a really believable way, even the minor ones. I particularly like the scenes with Marion, after she's stolen the money and is on her way to find Sam. She has several thoughts about the reactions of the people she's stolen from and who she's encountered since the theft.  In her head, she plays imaginary conversations between these people. I love Janet Leigh's facial expressions and how they change depending on who she imagines talking; eg Her face is full of apprehension when she thinks what the police officer and the used car guy may be saying about her, but her face twist into a small smirk when she thinks about how Mr Cassidy (the man who's $40 000 she took) might be reacting.

  

As well as the 'iconic' stuff, I'm a huge fan of the little things in this film. Minor characters like 'California Charlie' the used car salesman and the psychiatrist are hugely entertaining in their own right. I feel they're the light relief amid all the drama (whether that's intended is another issue). I also just want to reiterate how much I love Anthony Perkins' portrayal of Norman because, despite several re-watches, I can't help but feel extremely sorry for him. The vulnerability that seems to ooze from him kind of tugs at the heart-strings a little bit. I know he's mentally unstable and the psycho of the film, but I can't stop thinking "Awww! He's so nice" when we're first introduced to him. This is just one of many reasons why I believe Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake was a terrible mistake. Vince Vaughn was never going to touch Anthony Perkins' Norman, it was depressing to watch. When people take characters and make them their own, any other imitators are going to fall flat on their faces. My philosophy when it comes down to remaking films like Psycho is simple: Leave the classics alone.

 

Zuckerberg Zombies

I hate Facebook, I really do. Anybody who knows me is fully aware of my utter contempt for it. In fact, social networking in general has never properly enticed me. I'm not a social person at the best of times, so when a sudden surge of sites pop up to say 'Hey! Here's a new way to connect with even more people', I tend to give them a swerve. I'm not really a people person, so if I end up in a intense, suffocating social environment, I've usually been forced into it.

My first taste of social networking came through MySpace (yeah remember that?) and that was only because I told a friend in an IT lesson at school that I'd never heard of it. His jaw literally  dropped and he said "You're not on MySpace? That's it, you're getting an account NOW!". The rest of the lesson consisted of him setting up the account, profile page and sending friend requests out to various acquaintances from school. I was totally overwhelmed by it, but reluctantly persevered and I did actually develop a fondness for it. As that was happening, Facebook had emerged and fast became the new flavour of the month. I had a look-see at my friends' Facebook accounts and took an instant dislike to the thing. It looked so intrusive as it religiously reported back on which friend wrote what on whoever's wall. The constant news feed on people's every movement seemed way too OTT but everyone had seemingly jumped ship to it, shrugging their shoulders at how invasive it was. I, however, was determined to stick with MySpace and so began a battle of wills between me and the Facebook brigade. Once again, I was bombarded with cries of "Everyone's on it! No-one uses MySpace anymore" but I refused to give in. It took a while for people to finally accept that I wasn't going to join up, but they eventually did and it became one of my 'things'. Boy, did I relish not giving in. Hearing stuff like "I poked X but they never poked me back and I want to know why" or huffy reactions of  "X put a photo up but didn't tag me in it" just reinforced my belief that Facebook (or 'The Evil Book Of Faces' as I dubbed it) was a hotbed for inane drama and self-indulgent twaddle. This is still my belief to this day, which makes what I'm about to say hypocritical to the max: I ended up creating a Facebook account.

Now, before I'm strung up and force-fed humble pie, let me give my defence. One of the (few) pros of Facebook is the ability it provides for people to stay in touch. I know thing like e-mail exist, but Facebook pretty much turned into an all-in-one messaging service. Relatives on the other side of the world from each other could get up to date info regularly. I'm not going to deny that it hasn't provided a stable way for people to keep in touch. This is partly the reason I finally stopped fighting the good fight. Silly me was trying to keep in contact via text messages, but I soon learnt that everyone communicated solely on Facebook. So there was the dilemma: stick to the principles and let my social circle fizzle out, or become a hypocrite and bow to peer pressure? Sadly, I was pushed into the latter after an over-zealous friend tweaked her old account to make it into one for me - complete with name change and picture. In the end, I couldn't put up with the badgering anymore so signed up to 1) Clarify that her old account wasn't me and 2) Finally claw my way back into regular contact with people.  Even under my alias (I always use one on any site I join up to) people found out it was me and they were flabbergasted that after so many years, I'd finally caved.

So here's me, finally part of the Facebook world. How have I found it? Well, my Facebook experience overall has consisted of confusion, apprehension, amusement, annoyance, frustration, boredom and it's culminated in fiery hatred. I always kick myself for going against my gut instinct and this is no exception. As I've stated earlier, I believed Facebook was a hotbed for inane drama and self-indulgent twaddle and I've been proven absolutely right. Facebook is a site for a keeping-up-with-the-Jonses type lifestyle competition under the guise of bringing people together and strengthening their connections with each other. Facebook pretty much give you the ability to live with your "friends" 24/7. You get to know things like what they had for lunch or where they went shopping in the afternoon and even what time they go to bed. But hey, this stuff is interesting, right? How could you live without knowing whether Bob's found his other sock, or what about the fact that Tim can't decide whether to have a biscuit or cake for a snack?  This is crucial stuff that the world needs to know - only it isn't. It's banal, excruciatingly boring stuff that no-one gives a flying one about. These yawn-worthy everyday occurrences in life aren't anything special so why people feel the compulsion to broadcast them to cyberspace is beyond me. 

One of the worst Facebook behavioural patterns, for me, is updating when out in the real world. There's one particular friend of a "friend"  on my account that seems to fall over themselves to let Facebook know where they are, what they're doing and who they're with in real time.

Example:

Out with X tonight, on our way to *insert place name here*

10 minutes later...

Finally arrived at *place* with X! Gonna have a good night

8 minutes later...

Me and X just sat down to this (insert picture of food)! - at *place*

20 minutes later

Just finished meal. Was gorgeous! Now going to have some drinks - with X

1 hour later...

On our way home from *place* now.  Had such a great time - with X at *place*

Now why, in the name of all that's holy, would anybody constantly interrupt a night out with real people in order to inform the Facebook world of the great time they're supposedly having? If you're enjoying it that much then why the hell are you even logged in? There's nothing more irritating (and I'd even go so far as to say downright rude) than being out with somebody who can't seem to put their phone down for two minutes. Try having a conversation with somebody who's constantly checking their phone, it's pretty much impossible and you wonder why on earth they've bothered coming out if they're only going to pay 10% attention to you. It reminds me of when I went to music gigs and spent the majority of my time trying to film decent parts of the gig. When it was over, I realised that I'd hadn't relished the experience because I was too busy looking at it through a camera. However, in this age of smart phones and the likes, the ability to function normally in real life social situations seems to be waning. There's no social awareness or etiquette anymore because people seem to have an attack of the hives if they have to look away from a screen for more than two minutes, lest they miss an important update about whether or not someone's decided to dye their hair.

Admittedly, in my Facebook virgin days, I posted a few ambiguous, self-pitying statuses in the past, but that was because I was lured in by everyone else's behaviour on it and figured that's what Facebook was primarily geared for. I was attempting to go with the flow, but I realised that I'm really not that kind of person. I don't want to plaster the ups and downs of my life all over Facebook, I've found Twitter to be far more enjoyable social network (although that comes with a whole host of problems of it's own!). When it comes down to it, nobody really gives a stuff about your life because they're too busy with theirs. Nobody gives a damn about what you put up there unless it concerns them; and no amount of faux-interested comments or 'likes' is going to change that. I stopped putting statuses up on Facebook ages ago and now I just use it for games and to talk to one or two people. If I do decide to have a rare look through my news feed, I still see absolutely nothing of interest. The fact that so many people feel compelled to post every single detail of their lives, however inappropriate, seriously scares me. You're in labour? Quick, post frequent updates about how it's all going! If you're lucky, you might even be able to manage an upload of the baby crowning! Got major beef with someone? Forget about dealing with it in private, have a blazing row and air all that dirty laundry all over you pages so everyone can have a look! I mean, really, is nothing scared anymore? Is privacy an obsolete concept? Facebook seems to have a created a breed of people who are so needy and desperate for approval, praise and basic recognition...it's actually rather a depressing scenario that just seems to be getting worse.

There's a thread running on a forum I go on, titled: Worst Facebook Updates ever. Here are just a few of my personal favourites...

19.07: Making homemade chicken korma.
19.28: Just made homemade chicken korma.
20.03: Enjoyed my homemade chicken korma

 Can't wait until my new shorts get delivered, I need cheering up

 Weighed myself on my friends scales and i may of lost half a pound :-D

 Just found out I can fit 27 maltesers in my mouth!

 Ran out of red bull wanted mum to get me sum more n she gave me a fiver and told me to get it myself! FML!!!

Earworms

An Earworm is a catchy piece of music that continually repeats through a person's mind after it is no longer playing

Oh dear. I'm a victim to a persistent Earworm at the moment, in fact it's been annoying me for a couple of weeks! Ladies and Gentlemen, Prince's 'Raspberry Beret' simply refuses to leave my head. I've had the same couple of lines repeating in my head over and over again. No matter what I'm doing (eating, watching TV, playing games, reading etc) I've got this constant tune wedged in my brain. There will be random outbursts of lyrics from me during lulls of silence and it's getting weird. I've had earworms like this before and my solution is usually to hit YouTube and play said song a few times in a row. Unfortunately, I couldn't do that with RB as Prince won't allow his songs online and I have no money in my iTunes account! The closest I could do was going into the iTunes online store and replaying a 40 second sample of the song! It still wasn't enough though and things came to a head a few nights ago when I (drunkenly) hit ebay and bought Prince's Greatest Hits at some unearthly hour. The CD finally came the other day and I've put RB on repeat until I'm sick of it. According to Wikipedia (scepticism enabled), 98% of people experience Earworms and it's women who get more irritated by them - and, on this occasion, I'll believe that.

So to anyone who's experiencing an Earworm that refuses to go away, I sympathise with you! It's one of those things that strangely fascinates me though; the fact that media can still play in your head as if for real. It freaks me out if I think about it too deeply, so I'm off to make myself thoroughly sick of Prince!

(8) She wore a raspberry beret, the kind you find in a second-hand store

     Raspberry beret, and if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more (8)

From The Eternal Sea, He Rises...

Halloween Countdown: #4 The Omen

Wow, this is an unsettling film! Full of sinister, pseudo-religious prophecy and a kid that really does have a stare of pure evil, The Omen (1976) is a firm #4 in my list. The Black Mass title music, 'Ave Satani' (translation - Hail Satan) immediately sets the tone of the film. I think the title music is fantastically eerie so kudos to composer Jerry Goldsmith who came up with it. A sudden feeling of impending doom always sweeps over me whenever I hear that dark chanting and it gets particularly unnerving towards the end when the chants become powerful screams. I think as scores go, this one in particular is perfectly done.

So before I jump in and start talking through the plot, once again I will say:

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Are we clear? Good! Let's move on!

The Omen's plot revolves around US diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck), his wife Kathy (Lee Remick) and their son Damien. It is learnt at the very start of the film (in Rome) that the Thorns' newborn son was stillborn, but only Mr Thorn is informed of this by the hospital chaplain. Robert is also told that, at the same time, the hospital have been left with an orphaned newborn boy who's mother had died in childbirth. The hospital chaplain persuades Thorn to secretly adopt this orphaned newborn, however he keeps this and the biological child's death secret from Kathy. Thorn is later appointed US Ambassador to Great Britain and he and his family move over to London. By this point of the film, Damien is five and it is at his birthday party where the hints of something untoward begin. As Damien and his friends are playing, a voice is heard calling out to him. This turns out to be his nanny who is teetering on the roof of the Thorn's house, with a rope around her neck. By now, everyone's attention is drawn to her as she declares to Damien "It's all for you" and steps off the roof, hanging herself. In fact, here's the scene in question:

 

The appearance of the Rottweiler dog towards the end is actually worth noting. The Rottweiler makes several appearances throughout the film, presumably as the indication to the audience that evil is present. Pretty much all of the dog's appearances are aptly intimidating and I certainly wouldn't like to try and take it on! 

One of the key scenes in the film takes places the day after the party, where Thorn is ambushed in his office by priest Father Brennan. Brennan ambiguously urges Thorn to accept Christ as his saviour: 

 "You must take communion. Drink the blood of Christ and eat his flesh. Only if he is within you can you defeat the son of the devil"

Thorn is naturally sceptical with Brennan's rambling and is preparing security to eject him, when Brennan states that he was at the hospital in Rome when Damien was born. It transpires that Brennan is clumsily trying to tell Thorn that Damien is the spawn of Satan and Thorn must ready himself to destroy him. Of course, because Brennan speaks in riddles, Thorn loses patience and security eject him from the office.

Back at the Thorn household, replacement nanny Mrs Baylock (Bille Whitelaw) arrives for Damien. She appears cool, calm and ready for work. After the Thorns realise that neither one of them hired her, Mrs Baylock is questioned about how she came to arrive. She explains that the agency had heard about the previous nanny's suicide and automatically sent her to them. This explanation placates the Thorns and they let her go to Damien. As soon as Mrs Baylock is alone with Damien, it becomes clear that she's another figure to be wary of: "Have no fear, little one. I am here to protect thee". I'd like to praise Billie Whitelaw's initial understated menace. You can tell immediately that she's a wrong'un! This becomes more apparent when Mrs Baylock tries to discourage Kathy from taking Damien to church. Kathy is shocked by her forwardness and firmly rebuffs her and orders her to get Damien ready. Baylock reluctantly backs down, but Damien doesn't disappoint her as he has a major freak-out as he approaches the church which prevents the Thorns from attending after all.

 

Already we're getting more and more signs that Damien is not as he seems and the Safari Park scene is just another incident that reinforces this suspicion. This scene is one that really stuck out to me. There's always been the notion that animals can sense things before humans and this is the perfect portrayal of that. Kathy takes Damien to see the animals, but they really don't want to see him! Giraffes run away from him, but the most extreme reaction is from the Baboon enclosure. I find this scene particularly scary because of the way the baboons swarm over the car Kathy and Damien are in and also because of the sheer ferocity of them. Their frantic cries and the huge teeth they bare seriously worry me and  was always convinced that they would've found a way into that car. FOr animals, they genuinely look like they hate that kid!

The second (and last) meeting between Brennan and Thorn is where the key events of the film are laid out:

"When the Jews return to Zion, and a comet rips the sky, and the Holy Roman Empire rises, then you and I must die. From the Eternal Sea, He rises, creating armies on either shore, turning man against his brother, till man exists, no more." The Book of Revelation predicted it all"

The Book of Revelation in the Bible predicts the eventual emergence of the Anti-Christ and the eventual Armageddon that will occur as a result of this. Brennan, still ambiguously, tells Thorn "It is by means of a human personality entirely in his possession that Satan will wage his last formidable offence". Basically, Brennan is telling Thorn that Satan is working his evil through Damien and he warns Thorn that Damien will eradicate everything connected to Thorn (including an unborn baby of Kathy's) then Thorn himself when Damien inherits everything of his. Brennan gives Thorn all the information he needs to fight back and destroy the Anti-Christ, but Thorn rubbishes the priest and gives a last warning for him to stay away. Straight after Thorn leaves, a powerful storm takes over and Brennan flees to a nearby , but to no avail as he ends up getting impaled by a spire that falls from the roof after a lightning strike. As dramatic as this scene is, I can't help but give a little giggle at the fact that the guy just stands and waits for the spire to hit him! He looks up and just shouts "NOOOOOO!" until he's impaled. It's still a good scene though and it's the first proper sign that shiz is getting real! 

  

Brennan's words start to become reality. Kathy reveals she is pregnant, but has begun to see a therapist after life with Damien is getting too much. She decides against another child and Thorn decides to talk to the therapist about Kathy's refusal to carry out the pregnancy. Thorn stresses that he wants this baby to live on order to defy Brennan's prophecy, but Kathy loses the baby after Damien crashes into her in an upstairs hallway and knocks her over the bannister. This is another great little scene where the use of slow-motion ramps up the drama. The brief shot before the accident is rather chilling too as Mrs Baylock seems to be almost waiting for the perfect moment to let Damien loose on Kathy.Of course, when Thorn learns about Kathy's "accident" and loss of the baby, his dismissal of Brennan begins to weaken, especially when he visits Kathy and she weakly says "Don't let him kill me". Everything seems to be falling into place and Thorn really has to start taking Brennan's words seriously.

He does so when photographer Keith Jennings (David Warner) gets in touch with him. Jennings had been hovering around and taking pictures during moments such as the nanny hanging and Brennan's hounding of Thorn. When Thorn meets him in his green room, the photos that Jennings had taken seem to foreshadow the eventual death of the subjects; the nanny's picture has a shadow around her neck and Brennan's photo has a long thin shadow protruding from his arm. The pair visit Brennan's house and find the walls covered in Bible pages. They discuss Brennan's motives and Thorn finally accepts that there was method in the madness. Thorn decides to go back to Italy to gather information on Damien's birth. Jennings decides to accompany him after accidentally taking a photo of himself and spotting a foreshadowing of his potential death. The pair track down the hospital chaplain from the start of the film (who is badly scarred from a fire which consumed the hospital five years previously) and he directs them to the place where they can find Damien's mother. At this point, I have to say that the discovery of Damien's origin is the scariest scene for me - SEE HERE. The tension is really unbearable as the revelation that Damien was the offspring of a jackal (Brennan was on the verge of revealing this before he was ejected) and that the hospital had deliberately killed the Thorn baby in order to establish Damien's role in the world. The shot of the skeletons in their graves is such a dramatic, frightening moment, but there's no time for it to properly sink in as Thorn and Jennings are suddenly ambushed by yet more Rottweilers! They are out to kill on this occasion and Thorn and Jennings barely escape them. Just like the baboons, the ferocity of the dogs makes the scene 10x scarier.

Back in England, meanwhile, Kathy gets a phone call from Thorn who pleads with her to join him in Italy immediately. She's bemused, but agrees to it, however Mrs Baylock appears from nowhere and pushes her out of the window to her death. It's a jump-scare moment that isn't expected. It's safe to assume that Kathy isn't going to make it to Italy, but to die by Mrs Baylock's hands is a good twist. The next day, Thorn and Jennings track down another man who presents Thorn with seven daggers and instructions on how to kill the Anti-Christ. Thorn suddenly has second thoughts and throws the daggers away, but Jennings decides to retrieve them to do the job for Thorn. What happens next is an iconic scene in horror history...

The total lack of build-up and music is what makes this scene. There isn't even buckets of blood and gore. The scene is so simple, yet brilliantly effective and it catapults Thorn into the climax of the film - eliminating Damien.  After locking the dog in the basement, Thorn reaches Damien and discovers the mark of the Anti-Christ (666) on him. Before he can act, Mrs Baylock attacks Thorn and the two fight until Thorn overpowers her and kills her. Hearing the dog howl after Baylock is killed is a nice recognition of the connection the minions of Satan had. The finale of the film is a race against time for Thorn as he grabs Damien and races to the church to dispose of him. His frantic behaviour alerts police who give chase, pursuing him to the church. The penultimate scene with Thorn holding Damien down while brandishing the dagger is too tense for words. Despite knowing what Damien truly is, Thorn's hesitation in killing him creates a tug-at-the-heartstrings moment. Damien's childish cries of "Daddy, no!" do, for a moment, throw me and a small part of me doesn't want him killed. It's the human element of Damien trying to appeal to Thorn that really makes this scene gut-wrenchingly hard to watch. In layman's terms, this is a father trying to kill, how could that ever be easy viewing? It's this hesitation which allows the police to burst in and the cliffhanger of them shooting at Thorn as he finally brings the dagger down is just a perfect end to the scene. The next scene that follows is a good fake-out for the audience: We assume Damien is in one of the two coffins that are seen at the end, only for the camera to pan down to show Damien, alive and well, smiling at the camera. Cue a repeat of 'Ave Satani'. Just fantatsic. 

The Omen isn't a gory film packed full of special effects. The menace and terror is far more subtle. There are jump-scare moments, but they are occasional which (in my opinion) make them more effective. Damien himself, although a child, really does seem to have that bad vibe. I'm particularly drawn to the scene after the nanny hanging, where Damien stares at the dog with this piercing look. It's a brief scene, but it really hammers home the point that this kid is evil. I think The Omen is a brilliantly told story and basing the plot on biblical scripture really makes it work. I'd highly recommend The Omen to people who prefer a solid plot-driven film rather than a film pouring with blood and guts.

Think Of The Children

"School days are the best days of you life"

Well I, for one, find that notion highly debatable!! I'm sure we've all got particularly unpleasant memories from our school days that we'd rather forget; a teacher giving a good telling off for missed homework, militant dinner ladies making sure you've eaten all of that unappealing dinner you've been served or even slipping into the kit for those dreaded PE lessons! But where does not being invited to a classmate's party rank amongst those school horror clichés? Does anyone have haunting memories of not being chosen to go to little Jimmy's birthday party? 

Well, that's the issue that's been sparked after a UK school has banned the handing out of invitations unless every member of the class is invited (article HERE). The argument is that doing so is "unkind and divisive" and it completely goes against the school's "inclusive" attitude. A letter from the Headteacher read : 

"Please could you avoid bringing any party invitations into school that do not include all children in a particular class or year group. This goes completely against our policy of inclusion for every single child and is divisive and unkind." 

Seems fair enough, right? Being left out of anything is rather a big issue, especially for younger schoolchildren. Think back to the very first day of school; scary, wasn't it? The main goal was to make friends and fit in. No child wants to be the outsider, the loser, 'Billy No-Mates". The feelings of sadness and embarrassment from not being picked for a team or not having a partner to pair up with in class can stay with someone right through to adulthood. I remember an instance of exactly that happening to me on a junior school day out. The (odd-numbered) group I was part of was told to pair up for a task, but guess who was left with no-one? To make it worse, the teacher stood me in front of everyone and said:

 "Since we have one over, which pair is going to going to be nice enough let (me) join them?"

Not one hand went up. So here I was, around seven years old, stood in front of 30 children who didn't particularly care for me at all. Even the teacher was surprised as she repeated the plea, adding "surely there are some of you nice enough to let her join you?". Eventually, one pair relented and I sheepishly shuffled over to them, but I will never forget that hideous occasion. Even now, I cringe in shame at just how much of a public humiliation that was. I imagine that it is this type of experience that the school in question is admirably trying to avoid at all costs with this move - and I can't really fault them for the intention. 

That being said, however, I don't believe that missing out on a party invite is comparable to my day trip for example. The head argues that publicly handing out invitations in class is unkind (kindness is a "key value" in the school) and can have a "serious impact" on those who are not invited - and I agree up, to a point. Public invitations that only include a select few isn't nice, but it's not nice whatever age you are. Kids being indiscreet and lacking tact isn't a surprise though, as they don't know any better, but adults acting the same way is just plain rude. I'll briefly reference another experience I had (this time in 6th form when I was 18/19) where one member of my "friendship" group made a huge song and dance about tracking people down, handing over an envelope and loudly declaring "Here's your invite to my party". Needless to say, I wasn't on the list but neither was another of my friends. We exchanged a knowing look with each other and later on ended up laughing at how much effort said girl had put into making it clear that we weren't the kind of people she wanted to associate with.  Anyway, the point is that yes, public invites aren't nice for the people who aren't included and if that's the way it worked at the school then I suppose it's a sensible move to stop them - in class. It seems though, that the Head wants invites to be arranged completely out of the school zone and that's the part I disagree with.

School is the major place for kids to consistently socialise at. They are guaranteed to see their friends, usually everyday, so I think it's the perfect place for invites to out-of-school occasions to be floated. I see no harm at all in letting kids hand out their invites at break times because usually they spend their breaks with their friends - who are obviously the  intended guests! Where's the distress caused in that scenario? The school's reported age range is 3-11 so I'd imagine 7-11 year olds would probably invite in the way I've suggested, whereas younger children of 6 and under (?) I'd imagine the parents would discuss details in the schoolyard at home time or something; I'd even go so further as to suggest that in this digital age, Facebook would inevitably come into play and the Head has even reference E-mail invites. I'm still adamant though that break time invites would not cause any trouble or distress to anyone. Worst case scenario though: A child gets wind of the fact that they hadn't been invited to a party of a child they weren't friends with, or even didn't like - how traumatised would they really be? My guess is, not very. Even so, this move isn't going to eradicate pre/post discussions of a party getting round. The school's motive seems to be trying to shield the pupils from disappointment and instead trying to promote a message of "Can't we all just be nice and not upset each other?"

The answer is 'No, not really'. School is suppose to be a form of preparation for adult life and we all know how unfair and disappointing that can be. There's a feeling nowadays that there's too much wrapping up in cotton wool with everyone. Nobody can take rejection, nobody can take losing, nobody can take criticism etc etc. I believe there's an element of truth in this and the seeds seem to be being sown in childhood. Re-iterating what I've said, I don't agree with public displays when it come to invites, but the argument that children should only be exposed to kindness and positivity in school is a little to idealistic for me.That ideal seems to be peddled into adult life too - "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" - but it's ultimately unworkable. We need to experience failure, we need to be able to handle simple rejection, we need to accept criticism. Bad experiences in life are usually all part of character building, you ideally learn from them. Of course, I'm not suggesting schoolchildren shouldn't be exposed to all the bad things under the Sun, but issues like not being invited to a party shouldn't be held up as the soul-destroying rejection that it's seemingly being made out to be. This is where parents and teachers alike should step in  and reassure children that it's not the end of the world when things like this happen.

The bottom line is that, no matter what age you are, there are always going to be good/bad experiences in life and constantly being shielded from any negativity is not going to do anybody any favours in the long run. 

They're All Going To Laugh At You

Halloween Countdown: #5 Carrie 

Narrowing down my films to just five has been hard. It turned out that I had about seven/eight favourites, but being the perfectionist I am, it had to be either five or ten. Besides, I'll give honourable mentions afterwards to the films that didn't make the cut. But, to get the ball rolling, I settled for Carrie (1976) for No.5. 

AT THIS POINT, I HAVE TO SAY: SPOILER WARNING!!

 

Carrie is an amazing high-school revenge film with a nice twist of horror and the supernatural. I think Sissy Spacek portrays downtrodden, abused Carrie White wonderfully. She's an extremely sympathetic character and I genuinely feel for her as I watch her having to suffer the systematic abuse from her peers at school as well as from her religious nut of a mother. The poor girl is relentlessly tormented, yet she still retains her softness throughout the majority of the film. Luckily, she has decent support in the form of teacher Miss Collins (named Miss Desjardin in the Stephen King novel) and their interactions in the film are really lovely to see. There is one particular scene where Miss Collins sticks up for Carrie that is extremely satisfying; that is the detention scene with the girls who tormented Carrie in the showers after she panicked about getting her first period. Miss Collins lambastes the girls for acting the way they did, then informs them that their detention will be spent doing gym with her; if they refuse to take part then they receive three days' suspension and refusal to the prom. The incentive to carry out the grueling detention works with all but one of the girls. Chris Hargensen, the token high school bitch, eventually rebels. This rebellion earns her a swift slap across the face from Miss Collins (which is a long time coming!) and sets her on her path to create more misery for Carrie. However, Miss Collins' words seem to get through to one girl, Sue Snell, who then decides to try and redeem herself by asking her boyfriend Tommy to take Carrie to the prom instead of her. Miss Collins is naturally sceptical about Sue's motive, but eventually decides to let it play out. I just really love the fact that Carrie has a defender at school. Miss Collins is tough but fair and the confidence boosts she always tries to give Carrie are well needed; the scene where she encourages Carrie to attend the prom is a great example of this. Miss Collins is really the mother Carrie deserves to have, which makes her fate towards the climax of the film so hard to watch.

 

As nice as it was to see Carrie have at least some support at school, sadly there's no-one to help her when she's at home. At this point, I'd like to say kudos to Piper Laurie who plays Margaret White. She really gets the crazed, religious fundamentalist character down to a tee. In a nutshell, everything in the world seem to be a sin in Mrs White's eyes. She neglected to tell Carrie the facts of life but when Carrie asks why, she gets the Bible thrust in her face and ordered to recite "Eve was weak". Mrs White then proceeds to tell Carrie that her period (or the "Curse Of Blood") is divine punishment for Carrie being sinful. There's no dressing this up; Mrs White's attitude and treatment of her daughter is just plain disturbing to watch. Puberty is a crazy enough time as it is, throwing a mental parent with a ridiculously strict moral code into the mix just makes that phase of life almost impossible. The tension throughout the Whites' scenes is so strong - you can actually feel the anxiety building inside you as you're willing Carrie not to say/do anything that could set Mrs White off. The atmosphere or terror in the White household makes Carrie's decision to tell her mother that she's attending the Prom, and also that she "can move things" (telekinesis), all the more gut-wrenching. Margaret freaks out enough over the normal things in life, so this revelation of Carrie's is guaranteed to crank the craze-o-meter right up! Despite her mother's adamant objections (plus a cup of coffee thrown in her face), Carrie stands her ground and doesn't let her mother take over and beat her down for once. Although I believe Carrie's new found confidence in herself mainly stems from her powers, I like to believe that Miss Collins' influence and encouragement has given Carrie a stronger sense of self-worth. Despite the feelings of euphoria that are created from seeing Carrie defy her mother, the audience can sense that the rejuvenated Carrie isn't going to last long. Before she sets off for the Prom, Carrie's mother warns her that it's all going to end badly and that everyone will laugh at her attempts to fit in. It sounds like sour grapes and bitterness, but it's not that far from the truth.

So, off Carrie goes to the Prom with date Tommy Ross and I have to say that Carrie looks beautiful. She's glammed up for the night like all the other girls. I think the first half of the Prom scene really tugs at the heartstrings because, for once, Carrie is one of the crowd. It's as if Carrie finally fits in somewhere and she's relishing every moment. I have to hand it to Tommy too, as he really goes all out to make Carrie feel comfortable. He spends a lot of his time trying to coax her out of her shell and it finally pays off when he persuades her to dance with him. The dance scene is another one of my favourite scenes purely for the temporary feel-good emotion it generates. I think the song fits the scene perfectly too, so much so that I downloaded it after I'd watched the film. The lyrics, I think, echo Carrie's thoughts perfectly: "I'm afraid 'cause it feels too good and I want it too bad" I think this is the ideal notion of 'too good to be true' for Carrie. She continually questions Tommy while they dance, about why he asked her to the Prom. After her initial reservations, she now wants to believe it's because he genuinely likes her, but is worried that she's getting carried away in the moment. Part of her just doesn't believe it's really happening to her. But these next lyrics pretty much sum the entire evening up for Carrie:

 So come on, let's dance
Let me have it while I have the chance

'Cause there's another world
Where there are other girls
But tonight there's only me
I never dreamed someone like you
Could love someone like me

It's pretty self-explanatory just how fitting those words are to this part of the film. Tonight is Carrie's one 'chance'  to be one of those 'other' girls and she wants to relish every moment.  The camerawork may make you feel a little dizzy, but the connection that Tommy and Carrie seem to have is just so bittersweet with what's coming next; as is her last interaction with Miss Collins. This really is the calm before the storm.

 

Yes, this perfect night was never going to stay perfect. Earlier on, Chris Hargensen recruited boyfriend Billy (John Travolta everybody!) to help her sabotage Carrie's night at the prom. They'd killed a pig, drained it's blood and rigged a bucketful of it in the gymnasium, directly above the stage. Chris has also enlisted best friend Norma (P J Soles) to fix the voting for prom King and Queen so that Carrie and Tommy win. The ultimate plane is for them to get on the stage so Chris can pull the rope and dump the bucket of pig's blood all over Carrie. For a moment, it almost looks as if the plan is going to be foiled when Sue Snell (who's covertly slipped into the Prom to make sure it's all going well for Carrie) realises the booby-trap and tries to expose it by warning Miss Collins. Unfortunately, Miss Collins believes Sue has barged in to cause trouble and swiftly ejects her. Seconds later, Chris pulls the cord and the bucket tips over Carrie. This is the catalyst that triggers Carrie's massacre. While Chris and Billy make a hasty exit after a job well done, Carrie descends into a homicidal rage. Fully embracing her telekinesis, Carrie traps everyone inside the gymnasium and proceeds to tear the place apart. One of the most heartbreaking scenes is when Carrie decides to include Miss Collins in her murderous attack. Every time I watch this film,, I will Carrie to spare her because of her genuine compassion towards Carrie. It just feels so wrong that Carrie decides to take out one of the only people who genuinely cared about her. Other deaths aren't so tragic; a huge cheer goes out when Carrie upturns the car that Chris and Billy in. But after annihilating everyone at the school, Carrie makes a return home - but the drama isn't over yet.

 

  

Carrie eventually returns home, truly devastated at how the evening turned out. She cleans herself up and reunites with her mother. Margaret pretends to comfort her, but ends up stabbing her. Margaret is convinced that Carrie's power come from Satan and sets herself of eradicating her. During the attack, Carrie uses her powers on her mother and ends up telekinetically crucifying her in the kitchen with knives. This scene is a nice imitation of the crucified figurine that exists in Carrie's prayer closet. It's an unsettling sight, but very well done. Soon after Mrs White's death, the house begins to crumble. Carrie releases her mother and pulls her body into her prayer closet, with herself. The house collapses and burns to the ground, presumably killing Carrie. The next scene is one of Sue Snell, who was the only person to survive the prom massacre due to her ejection, dreaming about visiting the site of Carrie's house - and thus comes Carrie's infamous jump scare. As Sue lays flowers, Carrie's bloodied hand comes shooting out of the ground and grabs her around the throat. I think for first time viewers who have remained spoiler-free, this jump-scare is brilliantly effective. Actually, even on repeated viewing, I still sometimes misjudge the timing and still end up getting that major jolt of fright. The last shot is quite a juicy beyond-the-grave attack which unsettles the viewer as much as it does Sue. As closing scenes go, it's certainly memorable! 

 

All in all, I think Carrie is a fantastic film that convincingly portrays the notion of the underdog getting even. I'm sure that a lot of us have gone through that phase in school where we so desperately wanted to hit back at our peers. I, for one, can relate to a lot of Carrie's misery and I can't help but feel immense pleasure when she eventually cuts loose. Of course, this feeling of mine is a knee-jerk one that is strictly related to the fictional premise. As it stands, the majority of people Carrie killed were innocent; in fact, the film suggests that the mocking laughter she endured after the pig's blood stunt was in her imagination; this is supported by the shot of Miss Collins laughing at her, but we know by Miss Collins' previous dealings with Carrie that there's no way in hell she'd have found her distress funny. In fact, it's my belief that Norma and her friends were the only people that genuinely laughed at Carrie. I just feel so much sympathy for Carrie throughout the film that I can completely understand her reaction to the latest prank. Everybody has their breaking point and they lash out when it's reached; the lasing out in this story just so happened to have a supernatural element to it, but the message is still the same.  

Carrie isn't a terrifying film, more a tragic story of a tormented girl who finally decides enough is enough. There really is no happy ending here, but it's one of those compelling films that I will never tire of watching. The cast really give the characters believability, Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie in particular.