Shocktober Day 12: Rosemary’s Baby

Rosemary’s Baby

During any other week, I might be inclined to play devil’s advocate against John’s dismay toward Roman Polanski, and say that there is such a thing as separating the art from the artist. But the fact of the matter is… I can’t. Because it is just not a great week to be ruminating on someone who used his status in Hollywood to take advantage of a younger woman. Granted, with Polanski, I think it’s complicated, since he’s lived a uniquely tragic 20th-century life. And also, unlike a lot of powerful, shitty men in Hollywood who’ve taken advantage of women, you could argue he’s been sufficiently punished for it. Well shit. I guess I did play devil’s advocate there a bit. But the truth is, he sucks. And guys like him suck. But unfortunately, Rosemary’s Baby sucks less than most of the horror movies I’ve ever seen. Continue reading →

Shocktober Day 11: Repulsion

Repulsion (1965)

Roman Polanski is a controversial figure, to say the least. Just this year Polanski has been accused of the sexual assault of another underage woman in the ‘70s. Polanski’s life apart from his personal crimes has been no less surreal. He survived the Holocaust at a young age and in 1969 his pregnant wife Sharon Tate was murdered by the Manson Family. Of course, neither of those excuse his actions.

Honestly, Polanski’s personal history makes writing about his films incredibly difficult. The more I read about Polanski the harder it is to appreciate his accomplishments. This is a man who recently said “trying to level the genders is purely idiotic.” “Offering flowers to a lady has become indecent … The pill has greatly changed the place of women in our times, masculinizing her. It chases away the romance in our lives.” Jesus Christ.

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Shocktober Day 10: Onibaba

Onibaba (1964)

Onibaba, which I think literally means “demon old lady,” is a theatrical fable of a film. It’s a small story with minimal dialogue, a tiny cast, and only a few sets. Nonetheless, it aspires to, and I believe succeeds at, being insightful about the absolute worst aspects on the human condition. I’m talking about starvation and desperation, lust and jealousy, opportunism and selfishness – the aspects of ourselves we’d like to overcome, laid bare in a time of survival. But is it any good?

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C.A.T.: The Evil One

Roky Erickson and the Aliens – The Evil One (1981)

Continuing “Classic Album Tuesdays: Halloween Edition” I give you this horror rock classic from cult favorite Roky Erickson. If you’re not familiar with Roky Erickson, I would highly recommend you read up on him or watch the excellent 2005 documentary You’re Gonna Miss Me. Otherwise here’s the short version…

Roky Erickson burst onto the scene in 1965 as the frontman and head songwriter of the Austin based rock band The 13th Floor Elevators. Penning the ‘60s classic, “You’re Gonna Miss Me” among others, Roky became a favorite among the garage rock circuit with his howling vocals and high energy performances. Trouble hit when Roky was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1968 and unwillingly subjected to electroshock therapy. It got worse.

In 1969, Roky was arrested in Austin for the possession of a single joint and pled insanity to avoid a ten-year prison sentence. He was sent to an Austin mental hospital where he stayed until 1974. Finding focus in the late ‘70s, Roky combined his love of horror and sci-fi with hard rock and formed Roky Erickson and the Aliens. The band recorded two overlapping EPs—that were later combined to make today’s album—produced by former Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist Stu Cook.

It feels odd to commemorate what was still a dark period in Erickson’s life, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find the beauty in the darkness. The track “I Think of Demons” could be a hit single for a more prominent artist. Someone like a Billy Idol. Probably would help if it wasn’t about demons though, and it’s not the only song about demons.

The leadoff track “Two Headed Dog is a bonafide classic from Erickson. Using the artist’s well-tested technique of finding a powerful phrase or hook and then repeating it over and over again. “Two-headed dog, two-headed dog. I’ve been working in the Kremlin with a two-headed dog.” There are other words but this phrase is pounded into your head so hard and so often you’re not soon to forget it.

My personal favorite track is the Ben E. King flavored “I Walked with a Zombie” which contains no more than the words “I walked with a zombie. I walked with a zombie. I walked with a zombie last night.” It’s an oddly poignant number for such a silly b-movie hook. It just goes to show that even under all of Erickson’s crazy, there was still the soul of a talented songwriter trying to express himself.

Of course, it comes as no surprise that Erickson’s favorite subject is aliens. Around this time Erickson went as far as claiming he was an alien and that others wanted to harm him because of this fact. Erickson not long after became shut off from the world. He lived with his mother throughout the rest of the ‘80s and began a decades-long obsession with the mail, reading and collecting every piece of junk mail and writing back to chain letters.

Roky recorded sporadically throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s but it wasn’t until the mid-2000s that he got his life back on track. His brother sought to free him from his mother’s control. Roky started taking medication, got his driver’s license and started touring again. He even recorded a new album in 2010 with members of Okkervil River.

Roky has seen a great deal of light and darkness in life. The good news is he’s seen a great deal more light for the past decade or so and given us a lifetime of beautiful and powerful rock music. Thanks, Roky.

Favorite Tracks: “Click Your Fingers Applauding the Play,” “I Think of Demons,” “I Walked with a Zombie”

Shocktober Day 9: Kwaidan

Kwaidan (1964)

Kwaidan is like that film you watch in your Asian Cinema studies class in college. It takes a week to finish and afterward you’re assigned a ten-page paper addressing the theme of guilt in post-WWII Japan as represented in the film’s take on classic Japanese folklore. You read a film analysis book by a dork who sold one screenplay in 1982 (it was never produced), you Google images and examine the lighting and color, you watch and re-watch scenes to appreciate the sense of framing and how they use negative space. At the end of the grueling ordeal, you come to appreciate the film, but you never love it. At least I didn’t. Let’s find out why.

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Sleep Well Boys

The National – Sleep Well Beast

The National are a band I think about and listen to a lot, particularly during this time of year – when things become colder and more enshrouded in darkness, not unlike a National album cover. But I only get to write about The National on this blog occasionally, mainly because they typically take a while between album releases. And I’ll admit I’m prone to whipping out the old grab bag of subjects to discuss while talking about The National – how their songs take a while to grow on you, Matt Berninger’s brooding and disarmingly funny lyrics, the band’s consistency in maintaining a sound that’s always the same but always different. And then there’s the attribute that keeps me from writing about The National any more frequently than every 3 years or so – their attention to detail. Continue reading →

Shocktober Day 8: Carnival of Souls

Carnival of Souls (1962)

Going into Shocktober, Carnival of Souls was my most anticipated film. Mainly because I was enamored with the backstory of the film. Herk Harvey was an average director/producer on industrial/educational films in the ’60s, until one day he drove by the abandoned Saltair Pavillon in Salt Lake City and was inspired. He pulled together every resource he had, raised $17,000 himself, was deferred another $13,000, took three weeks off of work and shot a movie in and around Kansas and Utah.

It’s Inspiring not just because of how Harvey made this film, but because of the kind of film he wanted to make. Carnival of Souls isn’t a “Jump-out-of-your-seat and say BOO!” movie. Nor is it a rubber suit monster movie. It’s a psychological drama about the thin line between life and death, and even though it doesn’t always work it’s admirable in the best way.

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