tardy, yet again

It seems that we've missed two fairly significant dates that came and went, recently: an actual Friday the 13th and the birthday of cosmic horror author H.P. Lovecraft. The former isn't that excusable, since we've listed each month in which the thirteenth falls on a Friday up until July 13th, 2012 in our Seasonal Horror Calendar. However, dropping the ball on the latter wasn't as bad, at least in our opinion, because we hadn't thought to look into it before.

Well, we here at the Darkley Niche are rectifying that last mistake by making H.P. Lovecraft's birthday our latest addition to the Seasonal Horror Calendar. Normally we wouldn't include birthdays in the calendar. In the case of such an influential horror writer, however, we will make an exception.

August 20th - H.P. LOVECRAFT'S BIRTHDAY

'Dagon' (2002)

While inspired only in name by H.P. Lovecraft's earlier short story "Dagon", it is, however, an adaptation of our personal favorite, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". The film's greatest deviation from the written work is its change in setting, moving it from the New English town of Innsmouth to that of Imboca, Spain. Francisco Rabal's superb performance of the tragic town drunkard is not to be missed.

Additional H.P.L. suggestions:
- 'The Call of Cthulhu' (2005; silent film created by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society)
- 'H.P. Lovecraft's Necronomicon' (1994; anthology of three H.P.L. stories)
- 'Re-Animator' (1985; eighties adaptation of the same-name story)
- 'Masters of Horror' season one, episode two, "Dreams in the Witch-House" (2005; modern adaptation of the same-name story)
- 'Evil Dead' trilogy (1981-1993; incorporates H.P.L.'s Necronomicon)

Dolls

As is sometimes a part of our occasional outings, last Monday Don and myself ordered some Jet's Pizza and passed the wait by browsing through CJ Videos' selection, taking advantage of their weekly three movies for five dollars deal. Among our choices, Don was particularly keen to give 'Dolls' (directed by Stuart Gordon, who did 'Re-Animator' the previous year) a try, though I don't recall offhand exactly why. It looked interesting enough, so we both agreed and rented it. And as I'd later find out, 'Dolls' preceded 'Child's Play' by about a year, making its mark before Chucky was even around. The same holds true for 'Puppet Master', which came about two years after. (WARNING: spoilers ahead)

On their way to take a vacation trip, the Bower family becomes stranded on a remote countryside road, just when a thunderstorm suddenly forms. Anything but loving, David Bower (Ian Williams) is an angry and verbally abusive father who has recently remarried Rosemary (Carolyn Gordon), a wealthy and frigid woman. Having divorced his first wife it's apparent that David remarried for money, which is why he cows to her constant bitching, if you'll pardon my French. But it's David's daughter Judy (Carry Loraine, 'Poltergeist II'), perhaps a little overimaginative but nonetheless a sweet girl, that takes the brunt of their distemperment. Really, when stuck in such a miserable position, imagination is all a kid has. And daydreaming that a giant teddy bear mauls and maims the incompetent parents, though dark but still humorous, is as close as Judy can get to venting without getting into trouble.

Spotting a large estate nearby, the family take refuge by entering inside via a basement doorway but are promptly discovered by the owners, the elderly Hartwicke couple. Sympathetic to their plight, they take the family in for the night. Gabriel Hartwicke (Guy Rolfe, 'Puppet Master' 3-5 & 7), a doll maker, explains that the storms always seem to take travelers by surprise around here, as Hilary (Hilary Mason, 'Don't Look Now') agrees and serves the guests some warm soup. Not long after, three strangers appear, barging in without so much as a knock: Isabel (Bunty Bailey) and Enid (Cassie Stuart), a pair of punk rock hitchhickers, and Ralph (Stephen Lee), a nice but somewhat dim guy.

Mr. Hartwicke lends Judy his good friend Mr. Punch to keep her company while Teddy is away.

After showing Judy's parents and the hitchhiker girls to their respective rooms, Gabriel gives Ralph and Judy a tour of his doll workshop in the basement. Ralph reminisces about how his father would say that toys would come to life at night and play. As they talk, we learn that his father died when he was nine, so many of his fondest memories relate to childhood toys. Gabriel listens and agrees, adding, "And they remember you, Ralph. Toys are very loyal." This proves very true later as the night moves on.

Taking advantage of the Hartwickes' hospitality, the hitchhiker girls, Isabel specifically, decide to steal some of the household antiques (Otherwise known as "anticues" or "antikis", as Isabel calls them. Never finished school, did we love?) in the cover of night. As you may imagine, the dolls don't take too kindly to this. While Enid's conscience keeps her from partaking, and thus remains in her bedroom, Isabel is alone and finds herself at the mercy of the dolls, who show the thief none. Unfortunately Judy, who was wandering the halls to get a glass of water, had to witness a bloodied Isabel being dragged away. Ah yes, nothing like a little childhood trauma to build character.

Of course when Judy rushes into her parents' bedroom, adamant that Isabel was taken away by elves, well, to say they're skeptical would be an understatement. The alcohol sitting in their room, which they were quite pleased to help themselves to, loosens the lips of an already verbally abusive David Bower. And if it weren't for the stepmother intervening, Judy would have been struck with a solid backhand, and perhaps more than that. As much as you'd like to think that perhaps Rosemary has a shred of goodness in her, it's only in the interest of saving money on child support that she stays David's hand.

With no one else to turn to, Judy goes to Ralph for help, who is skeptical at first until he notices the bloodstains on her animal slippers. Following the trail of blood, th e two head upstairs into the attic to investigate. Unable to find Isabel, they leave without noticing the girl right behind them in the shadows, bound to a chair and silenced by a doll mask.

Waking Judy's parents and Enid, afraid that perhaps Gabriel is responsible, Ralph and Judy try to warn them. However, this backfires and they accuse Ralph of murdering the hitchhiker girl. Nothing is done to Ralph, but the guests shut themselves up to keep away from him. Intending to keep Judy with them for safe measure, she runs away from her father. When he's unable to find her, David tries to force her out of hiding by threatening to harm the Mr. Punch doll. David tries to make good on his threat, but finds he cannot tear Mr. Punch apart or really hurt the doll. And while his attention is focused elsewhere, David finds after that Mr. Punch has vanished.

Ralph goes to Gabriel, who explains that it was simply spilt paint that they found in the hallway and gently laughs off the fairies story that Judy came to him with. Elsewhere, just across the hall from one another, the dolls start to move against Rosemary and Enid. Rosemary, however, is assaulted en masse and in an attempt to escape somehow misjudges her jump and goes flying through a window, presumably falling to her death. How she ever managed to do something so stupid, I'll never know.

While most of the dolls attack with makeshift weapons, this doll makes use of its fangs.

Elsewhere during all of this, Enid carefully walks the halls in search of Isabel. Upon hearing someone approach, she snuffs out her candle and hides around a hall corner. Peeking from her hiding place, she watches as Hilary pushes along a baby carriage, softly singing "Hush A Bye Baby". Turning into an adjacent hall, Enid is close enough to spy that it's a doll inside, not a child. Not any real surprise to us, but still creepy nonetheless.

When the coast is clear, Enid resumes her search which takes her to the attic. Discovering the chair that Isabel was bound to earlier, it's empty but has blood on the arms. Shortly after she finds her hitchhiking friend sitting still in the darkness, telling Enid in a weak voice, "Go back... Please..." Bringing her light closer she sees that Isabel's face, who appeared to be wearing a mask, has actually turned into that of a doll's, complete with false eyes which fall out of their sockets. Horrified, Enid backs away but is promptly attacked by a group of dolls. Realizing that Judy was right, she breaks some of the dolls in during her defense, discovering what appear to be tiny corpses inside masquerading as dolls. Unfortunately, her escape from the attic is all in vain as she's greeted downstairs by a band of armed toy soldiers that open fire on her.

Accompanying Judy to the storage room, Ralph and the little Bower girl go inside to see about these "little people", certain that she heard them there earlier. After stumbling further in Ralph literally bumps into a light, which reveals dolls from wall to wall. And in a classic horror movie moment where the kid reveals an all too important detail too late, Ralph learns that the dolls are Judy's "little people". Surrounded, the dolls apparently do not want either of them to leave. Rather unexpectedly, Ralph takes the offensive and charges the toys, breaking several in the attempt. But hopelessly outnumbered, he is overtaken in the confined space by these living toys. Judy pleads for them not to hurt Ralph, which, surprisingly, actually works. The dolls deliberate the matter amongst themselves and decide that Ralph is alright, apparently a child at heart, and let the two go.

Meanwhile, having returned unsuccessful in retrieving Judy, David has showered and gets into bed. Beneath the covers lies the still form of Rosemary, whom David simply assumes is sleeping. Unnoticeable to him, a red spot where Rosemary's head rests slowly bleeds into the sheets. But it's only after David makes an advance on his second wife that he uncovers her broken and bloodied head. After the initial shock wears off, David can only assume that Ralph is responsible. Breaking apart a bedroom chair, he runs out yelling like a maniac with a makeshift chair leg club.

There's a real mood killer for you -- literally.

In the basement, where they exit the storage room, Ralph and Judy are startled by her raving father, who accuses Ralph of murdering Rosemary and attacks. Unable to reason with him, Ralph defends himself as best he can but rather poorly. Knocking Ralph unconscious to the floor, David is interrupted by Judy. Completely uninhibited, he pushes his daughter forcefully aside. Ready to deliver the death blow to Ralph, he is saved in time by the Mr. Punch doll. Whilst occupied by Mr. Punch's intervention, the dolls drag Ralph and Judy away to safety elsewhere.

Tearing apart the shelves with a nearby sledgehammer, David gets the upper hand and crushes Mr. Punch's head with an exclamation, "F**k you, Clownie!". It is then that Mr. and Mrs. Hartwicke appear, where it's revealed that the elderly couple are in fact practitioners of witchcraft. Demanding his daughter back, who he exclaims will go straight into a juvenile home, is rebuked by Gabriel, "Being a parent is a privilege, David, not a right." As Gabriel continues to talk, David's form cracks and contorts gradually into that of the Mr. Punch doll.

The next morning, Ralph and Judy awake comfortably with little recollection of the night's events. The Hartwickes give a reasonable series of explanations, including the absence of the hitchhikers and Judy's parents. Reading a note "written" by David, it apologizes on his behalf for being such a poor father and that Rosemary and himself have gone away to another country, where they will change their names and never be heard from again, conveniently. Included with the letter is a plane ticket to fly Judy back to Boston to her mother, as well as money for Ralph to purchase one and instructions to see Judy back home. But after finishing the note, the Hartwickes offer their home to the two, having "grown quite fond" of them. Judy politely declines, much to Ralph's relief, but assures them that she'll come visit next summer. Just after Judy and Ralph leave, another car driving along gets stuck nearby the doll makers' manor.

David and Rosemary Bower, Enid, and Isabel, now trapped as dolls.

Much to my pleasure, 'Dolls' exceeded my initial expectations. The stop-motion animation and puppetry used with the dolls was quite well done, and some of the dolls were legitimately creepy in of themselves. Having grown up with a sister and shared a room with her and her small collection of dolls, I know firsthand how unnerving they can be. Despite being hokey at times, it made the film more endearing than a hinderance. Much better than 'Puppet Master' and on par with, if not perhaps above, 'Child's Play' I give it four out of five Mr. Punch dolls.

Brutal

If you're anything like myself, sometimes you browse through a collection of videos and mark down ones that get your attention for whatever reason, be they popular mainstream or essentially unheard of. On occasion I do that when I visit a video rental store, a generic store that sells DVDs, or online sites where you can watch TV shows and movies. In this case it was the latter. Hulu has some pretty mainstream material, but more than its fair share of unknowns, which brings me to my next horror movie review. (WARNING: major spoilers ahead)


I'm rather glad I didn't see the cover, otherwise I probably wouldn't have given it a chance. Any time I see a chainsaw on the cover of a horror movie, my mind instantly jumps to 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', which I'm not knocking, but I would be hard-pressed to watch a knockoff of said film. Especially when you read the quotation beneath: "Hostel meets The Silence of the Lambs". Definitely sounds like a crappy knockoff then when comparing it to other horror films in such a way. Fortunately I saw the screenshot instead used by Hulu first, along with a synopsis that gave me appropriate expectations, which were "cheap, low-budget thriller flick, but with a potentially worthwhile story". So after reading the description I decide that, alright, I'll bite. And with the video expiration date coming up soon, I figured now was the time to watch.

"When the remains of several dismembered corpses are discovered, a sheriff and his beautiful, young deputy begin a frantic search for the murderer. The deputy uncovers a methodical pattern used by the killer - only to discover she's next on his list."

Enter Blackwater Valley, a rustic town protected by Sheriff Jimmy Fleck and his young deputy, Zoe Adams. It's quickly evident that the two are carrying on an affair, the sheriff being a married, family man, but they've managed to keep it under wraps. And aside from the recent string of animal mutilations, which folks assume are being perpetrated by some teenagers for kicks, it's a pretty quiet town. That is, of course, until the first victim in a series of murders to come is found.

Now yes, there is gore in this flick. Not tons of it, but still there is some. Personally I'm not a big fan of gore, with the exception of it in zombie films, but that's just how I am. So I'm just putting that out in the open, in case any readers may be particularly repulsed by that subject matter. But there is a legitimate purpose to the killings, so it's not a film with gore for the sake of gore.

Moving on, most of the victims, with the exception of the second target's boyfriend, are women. (And technically speaking, the boyfriend wasn't even a victim of the killer. He O.D.s after taking a large handful of her dad's little blue pills, which induces some kind of heart attack afterwards. Call it dark, but I found death by viagra rather funny.) Each body is left with a different type of flower, as a sort of calling card of the killer. The first is an iris, the second pair an impatiens, the third a cosmos, and the fourth pair some daisies. If you make the connection right now, color me impressed. Deputy Zoe's theory is the most credible, though ultimately incomplete, believing that the flowers were left according to the street name where the victim lived. So the first woman was left an iris because she lived on Iris Road and so on with the following victims. But as the sheriff points out, nearly every street in Blackwater Valley is named after a flower, making that particular detail essentially moot.

We see the killer from the very first murder, face and all, though it isn't until later that we start to pick up the pieces of his exact identity. And aside from his M.O. of female victims and flowers left at the scene, he uses a pair of hedge shears, for the most part, as the murder weapon. Perhaps a bit of a stretch, but I suppose farm and gardening tools fit into a plant theme with the flowers. As far as that goes, the exact motivation of the murders is unclear until the end. You simply assume he's killing women who are sexually immoral and harbors some sort of deep grudge against them because of it. That would make sense, as he gets rather hostile when advanced sexually by any of the women. And flowers are strong, sexual symbols in of themselves. Georgia O' Keefe, you can argue all you want, but a flower is still vaginal. But it's the last detail, the missing hearts of the murder victims (including the drug-overdosed boyfriend), that makes the killer's motivation more unclear.

Meanwhile, the stress of the murders only exasperates the underlying turmoil of the sheriff's and deputy's affair, as well as Rick, a rather stereotypical reporter, who is adamant about winning Zoe's affection. The more aggravated Sheriff Fleck gets, the more he throws his weight around, which causes Zoe to do some personal investigation into the case. This leads to Leroy Calhoun, an owner and trainer of bloodhounds who's something of a joke with the town yokels since he's mentally handicapped, apparently afflicted by something like autism according to Blackwater Valley's animal veterinarian. (Speaking of the vet, I found it amusing that he discusses Oprah during a visit to the Sheriff's department. Who talks about Oprah in a horror film, especially a guy no less?) It's never really explained exactly what Leroy has, except for an obsessive-compulsive need to open doors thirty-four times before entering a house, car, etcetera (going outside, however, is alright). After a little coaxing, Zoe is able to get Leroy's assistance as well as his hounds, especially when he learns that the animal mutilations might be connected.

Actually, it wasn't until the appearance of Leroy's character that I discovered a couple of horror cult icons in 'Brutal', namely Michael Berryman (Pluto, 'The Hills Have Eyes' 1977), the actor playing Leroy, and Jeffrey Combs (Herbert West, 'Re-Animator' trilogy) as Sheriff Fleck. Combs was much less recognizable than Berryman, donning a cowboy hat, mustache, and Southern accent for the part. So while their roles in 'Brutal' weren't particularly impressive, the actors themselves give the film a degree of appreciation for their contribution.

Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West in 'Re-Animator'

Michael Berryman as Pluto in 'The Hills Have Eyes' (1977)

Later, the killer meditates on the next murder as he sits in what is apparently the only bar in Blackwater Valley, watching a pair of women make out. By this point it's obvious he's not watching for the same reasons as the other bar patrons. It's when the waitress sits and talks with the killer that we get some insight into his mind. As it turns out, he's a middle school science teacher named Mr. Millbrook, who also happens to teach her son's class. This scene actually illustrates the movie quite well: intended female victims who fit the sexual immorality profile, disgruntled yokels who give a presence of the townsfolk, and the discussion between Millbrook and the waitress about flowers and their cycle of life and death. The students, who are growing their own flowers as a science project, reveals to us where the killer is getting his flowers. Of course the discussion doesn't last for long and, after following the two girls (who I'm more inclined to label exhibitionists than lesbians, since they get their kicks from pissing off the yokels), murders them in the middle of something cliche and stupid, just like all the preceding victims.

Elsewhere, with their illicit relationship growing ever uneasy, Sheriff Fleck tries to break off the affair and keep it quiet. With re-election coming up, he wants to save face. But of course this doesn't go over so well with Zoe, and fearing public scandal the sheriff sees a loose end to be taken care of. As luck would have it, there happens to be a serial killer in Blackwater Valley that targets women. With the killer as an ideal scapegoat, the sheriff contracts an ex-prisoner to do the dirty deed. But in an unexpected twist of events, not only does Zoe survive the attempted murder, she's saved by none other than Millbrook. Zoe regains her bearings, though not before Millbrook leaves, and quickly puts together who wanted her dead. It's during an explosive confrontation at the sheriff's house that Zoe notices a pot of flowers that belong to his son, a science project from middle school, and it clicks.

At the middle school, Zoe and Leroy put the pattern together, realizing that the flowers aren't just related to the street names that the victims lived on, as Zoe theorized, but are also relevant to the number of petals. Leroy, whose obsessive-compulsive behavior is apparently more numeric in nature, deduces that the flowers were used in a specific order that follow the Fibonacci Sequence. Confused? No shame in that, I was too. Let me break it down for you. Irises have three petals, impatiens have five, cosmos have eight, and daisies have thirteen. Not only was the killer using the Fibonacci Sequence to choose what flowers to use, and thus what street name his intended victims would be chosen from, but also using that respective number for the street address, which was the final determining factor.

Putting together the address of the next victim, 22 Aster, it predictably turns out to be Deputy Zoe's residence. And continuing the predictability, Millbrook arrives on the scene to dispose of her, but not before revealing his motives as he toys with the deputy. It all comes down to math, nature, and his inspiration, 17th century mathematician and scientist René Descartes. Descartes performed vivisections, dissections on living animals, which Millbrook remarks and gives creedence that he was behind the animal mutilations mentioned earlier. Also, according to Millbrook, Descartes had "proven" that animals have no souls. So, as his chain of logic follows, if humans are composed of the same physical material as animals, then humans have no souls, and without souls there is no sin, which seems to be his justification for the killings. Well, after a failed rescue attempt by Leroy, Rick arrives in time to shoot Millbrook. (Another dark humor moment, the blood sprays across a classroom marker board, which makes for a very easy clean up.)

All in all, while it was a rather cheaply done film, the story itself was not half bad. The only thing I find too coincidental is that all the victims happened to be women that fit into a similar archetype. Using the Fibonacci Sequence and flowers as the killer did to choose his victims, I'd say the odds of that actually happening is unbelievable. Putting that aside, 'Brutal' met my low expectations and then some. I give it two out of five Georgia O' Keefe irises.

Watch the trailer on YouTube, as well as the film itself.