Writing about movies, monsters, cinematic events and other wild trips
There’s no denying my immense love for David Cronenberg’s filmography—I even wrote a book about THE FLY (1986)—so I wanted to do his work and myself proud in writing a piece for this gorgeous Second Sight release of SCANNERS (1981).
I’m pretty proud of the essay angle I came up with. You’ll my find it, ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head: Scanners, Psychosis and Trepanation’ in the infinitely sniffable booklet that comes with this limited edition.
Hold onto your heads, folks…
I’ve already shared my Cinemaniacs presentation from early 2024 of SECONDS at The Astor, now here’s another classic from the vault: FATAL ATTRACTION.
Psych thriller or monster movie? I take the latter position. I also played the original ending of the film, which you too can watch in this audio and clip-show recording of the presentation from November 2023 at ACMI in Melbourne/Naarm. All in all, it was a great event – one which I now look back on with fondness.
Ready, set, go…
Also, a reminder of Cinemaniacs’ Patreon page where you can access presentations from other speakers, as well as a veritable treasure chest of goodies. I’ve joined, so should you 🙂
All too often, great Australian films get lost upon their release, for no fault of their making. Our cinema industry has a habit of burying its own, then claiming ‘Australians don’t want to watch Australian films’. Sadly, it usually takes an international cult following to give legitimacy to something we should have been championing ourselves all along. Lake Mungo is a case in point.
On Thursday 27th February, INSIDE––starring Guy Pearce, Cosmo Jarvis and Vincent Miller––gets released locally and I’m really hoping it doesn’t suffer the fate of many other Australian features. It’s a stunning exploration of intergenerational trauma, addiction, poverty and crime. It’s also the debut feature of writer-director-producer Charles Williams, who draws from his personal family experiences to give even greater gravitas to this story of a young man being transferred from juvenile detention to an adult prison population.
To support the release, I interviewed Charles Williams for the Primal Screen radio show, which you can listen to in full (30 minutes) on the Triple R website. Or, just play it directly here:
Guy Pearce is at his career-best with a Victorian-specific performance (and when I say ‘Victorian’, I’m referring to the Australian state/territory, not the era). Cosmo Jarvis is absolutely transformative. Toby Wallace has a small but pivotal role. Vincent Miller is the big revelation––his debut screen performance playing an 18 year-old while only aged 15 (usually, it’s the other way around). And here’s the trailer to further whet your appetite:
I was the first presenter for Cinemaniacs when they moved to The Astor Theatre, Melbourne, at the beginning of 2024, 3rd Feb to be exact.
Here’s the photo evidence: Of itty-bitty me in front of the mammoth Astor screen, setting the context for a rare screening of SECONDS (about which I’ve co-authored a book), standing in front of John Frankenheimer and RFK OG while giving off major political rally vibes.
It was a night fraught with technical difficulties, but I feel it still came together well, despite being left without a couple of planned video inclusions.
Upon launching a Patreon page, the Cinemaniacs team cut together presentations from the last few years, including a mercifully edited version of this SECONDS presentation. It’s audio only, accompanied by slides, but hopefully you’ll get something out of it.
Just hit play…
First project with Imprint Films, and it’s for this stunning boxset of 3 x films directed by Roman Polanski during the 1990s.
My mission: Join Paul Anthony Nelson from Cinema Viscera on the audio commentary for BITTER MOON (1992) and reposition it as the masterpiece it truly is. Did we succeed? I guess that’s up to the listeners, although my love of this nutty film has only been cemented by getting up-close and personal with it 30 years later. You’re invited to lean into the melodrama and sail its choppy seas with us.
We’re in good company. The other films in the boxset are DEATH AND THE MAIDEN (1994) with commentary by Josh Nelson, and THE NINTH GATE with commentary by Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson, and visual essay by my devilish colleague, Sally Christie. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the goodies you’ll find in this triple-decker release.
Flinch if you hear the name ‘Polanski’? I’ve written about that too.
It’s a loose interpretation of 10, but mathematics has never been my strong suit. Here goes nothing. In no particular order, except alphabetical-ish:
THE APPRENTICE (dir. Ali Abbasi) / A DIFFERENT MAN (dir. Aaron Schimberg)
Two remarkable ‘Stan’ films (i.e. Sebastian Stan) in what has been a breakout year for the actor – THE APPRENTICE for a believable transformation into the unbelievable; A DIFFERENT MAN for his precision of character and performance when, literally, wearing different skin. But also, for choosing roles so wisely and identifying smart, rich and interesting material that stands out from the Box Office throng.
THE BEAST (dir. Bertrand Bonello)
Let’s not mince words: It’s uncompromisingly pretentious. This could have gone either way across its 2.5-hour length (and it will for different viewers) but it held me in a vice-like grip. Science-fiction for those who don’t like science-fiction; romance for those who don’t like romance; horror for those who don’t like horror. You’ll find it all here, brought to life by Léa Seydoux and George Mackay’s A-grade performances.
CIVIL WAR (dir. Alex Garland)
Watching this on the IMAX screen was a pure adrenalin-rush from go to whoa, rendered in acute meta detailing from the perspective of photojournalists; neutral (‘Switzerland’), ‘shooting’ the action. I was actually surprised to hear the haters, but then I realised – view it through a sociological lens and it’s a revelatory truth; view it through a political lens and it’s going to frustrate the hell out of you. You choose which spectacles you wear.
THE COFFEE TABLE (dir. Caye Casas)
It’s hard to recommend this film to anyone but hardcore horror genre enthusiasts, because of its fearless melding of brutality with dark comedy – it can be really hard to reconcile one’s own principled self in appreciation of this nasty piece of work. But see through the artifice and this is tight, punchy, uncompromising filmmaking that may push at the boundaries of belief but, nevertheless, delivers on its promise. And more. The title ‘The Coffee Table’ is genius in itself.
THE FIRST OMEN (dir. Arkasha Stevenson)
I really don’t like prequels and sequels and remakes, so when they overcome my prejudice, it’s a moment to celebrate (hence, my books on 1986’s THE FLY and 1935’s THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN). So, in recognising good filmmaking, I applaud THE FIRST OMEN for doing justice to the original and creating a wholly original horror film despite its roots in another classic (which is almost 50 years old, just saying). That’s not an easy thing to do. Respect.
HANDLING THE UNDEAD (dir. Thea Hvistendahl)
I’m wondering how many people got to see this film and, by including it here in my list, I’m hoping its audience will broaden, even slightly. It’s a horror film – sure – but labelling it as a genre picture is misleading. This is slow, ambling (zombies in the Haitian sense) and it plays out with a European stillness of camera and action that many will find excruciating. But, by goodness, it ripped my heart out.
IN THE ROOM WHERE HE WAITS (dir. Timothy Despina Marshall)
Australian. Low budget. Queer. Horror. You’ve just stumbled on a film that has very few contemporaries. But, within the claustrophobic four walls and a bathroom of the protagonist’s COVID isolation hotel room, this is a film that draws a tight bow and perfectly communicates the interiority of a lone protagonist who’s going through his own version of hell. It’s time for this one to gain traction.
KNEECAP (dir. Rich Peppiatt)
What a ballbuster of a surprise! A really didn’t think this would land with me, but the cheekiness of the filmmaking and the utter intelligence of… everything… made me fall in love with this film. A timely valentine to the recognition of Indigenous languages nearing extinction – in this case, Irish – and one that does so through the very modern means of youth and hip-hop. And yeah, the central trio are the real Kneecappers of the story, not actors.
THE SUBSTANCE (dir. Coralie Fargeat) / SMILE 2 (dir. Parker Finn) / LOVE LIES BLEEDING (dir. Rose Glass)
Okay, this might seem strange, but I’ve gone for a triple-barrel acknowledgment of these films because of their female-led body horror aspect and other interweaving elements. I’m a fan of Cronenberg’s work (who isn’t?) and I love how these three seemingly disparate films in the one year can appear but have a connective thread that is undeniable. Watch them and then we can talk more.
SPEAK NO EVIL (dir. Christian Tadruf, 2022) / SPEAK NO EVIL (dir. James Watkins, 2024)
I only watched the 2022 original this year, so it made sense to me to run it alongside it’s 2024 English-language remake. For me, there is a superiority in the original film that doesn’t belittle the reimagining but, instead, acts as a masterclass of filmmaking. Why is it so much better? I urge you to view them side-by-side and you’ll see what I mean. Especially that finale.
When contemplating inclusions for my 2023 Top Ten list, LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (directed by Colin and Cameron Cairnes) was a shoo-in. So, it took little hesitation on my behalf to say ‘yes!’ to writing an essay for the booklet of this Limited Edition release from the most excellent people at Second Sight.
I provide an ‘orstralyan’ perspective on TV sensationalism in the 1970s, ‘WELCOME TO OUR LIVING ROOM: TV Sensationalism and the Scandals That Spawned a Horror Movie’, and I think/hope it came up a treat.
Special features for this release include a new audio commentary from the powerhouse duo of Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, which is worth the purchase price alone.
You could do worse than adding this treat to your physical media collection.
A new book! Not mine, but one in which I have written a chapter, edited by the talented duo of Andrew Nette and Samm Deighan, Revolution in 35mm: Political Violence and Resistance in Cinema from the Arthouse to the Grindhouse, 1960 to 1990.
Andrew Nette, who contributed to my own book on Bride of Frankenstein, asked me to pen a piece on political violence in feminist cinema. It’s fair to say, I was reluctant. The pitch was broad, and feminist cinema is outside my comfort zone. However, after a little coaching from Andrew and negotiating a narrower focus on three seminal films of the late second-wave – A Question of Silence (1982, dir. Marleen Gorris), Born in Flames (1983, dir. Lizzie Borden) and Camila (1984, dir. Maria Luisa Bemberg) – I decided to challenge myself and give it a crack.
The result can be found in the final chapter of Andrew and Samm’s book, with a title that can’t be repeated here (a direct quote from the concluding moments of the Gorris film).
This book reads good, looks good (that cover – sigh) and even smells good. I hope you buy it.
Umbrella Entertainment’s Collector’s Collection of GOODNIGHT MOMMY (2014) = scrumptious. Such beautiful cover design, including the ‘roaches! Lucky me for writing the booklet essay on twins and trauma for this limited, numbered release.
If you haven’t seen the original Austrian version of this most excellent psychological horror, made by aunt and nephew filmmaking duo, Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, don’t walk – run!
If you want to take ownership of an even more special experience of the film, this is the way to do it.
That big ol’ lug GODZILLA is turning 70, and we’ve all been invited to ACMI’s monumental GODZILLAFEST party!
My role in the formalities is to front up to a panel on Sunday 3rd November @ 11.30am hosted by Silvi Vann-Wall called GODZILLA: Global Pulp Culture Icon.
Tickets are free but you need to register your place – and currently, the ticket allocation is exhausted. But, never fear, I’m hoping and praying we might be moved to a bigger space. Because any GODZILLA party deserves to be monstrous.
Keep your eyes on the ACMI link in the lead-up.
Emma Westwood 