Category Archives: Film/Video

Another Stab: Are Slasher Films Back In Vogue?

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Image Courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood

With David Gordon Green’s Halloween setting box-office records, is it possible that we might see a resurgence of the slasher genre?

Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

This year saw the release of the film (confusingly) titled Halloween. Written as a direct follow-up to the John Carpenter classic, the film followed an elderly Laurie Strode, once again played by Jaimie Lee Curtis, as she encounters Michael Myers once again after 40 years. While a bit jarring in its tonal shifts, the film, for the most part, was well-received by fans and critics, leading to the thought: will history repeat itself, generating more entries in the genre?

Back in 1978, Halloween revolutionized the slasher genre in horror. While certainly not the first slasher film, with some citing Black Christmas or even Psycho as the first, the film did popularize the idea of masked psychopaths attacking and killing young folk one by one. With a measly budget of approximately $300,000, Halloween easily made back twenty times what was given to the creators, and thus started a trend of creators using what little they had to create horror films of their own in a similar style. From smaller fares such as Prom Night, The Burning, and My Bloody Valentine, to the famous Friday the 13th, this gave birth to what many believe to be the “Golden Age of Slasher Films,” going from 1978 to 1985, much to the dismay of film critics.

Image Courtesy of Miramax Studios

However, the genre’s popularity would eventually die down near the end of the decade. With the next two decades, there was a dip back into the spotlight with the likes of Wes Craven’s Scream, a step back down with the onslaught of critically panned remakes put out by Platinum Dunes that kept many franchises on the back-burner for years. While you had the occasional cult classic, such as Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon or Adam Green’s Hatchet trilogy, there hasn’t been stable momentum for the genre since the 90’s.

Then there came the past couple of years…

Image courtesy of Universal Studios

Slasher films have been steadily reemerging from their hiatus. With films such as Hush, Tragedy Girls, and even the return of Chucky from the Child’s Play series, filmmakers have shown that slasher films not only still have a place in the public mind, but could also be positively received by critics and fans. The only perceivable reason that they haven’t broken the floodgates is due to their relative obscurity.

The closest to overcoming this was 2017’s Happy Death Day, receiving fairly positive reviews and admirable box-office numbers. This could very well change with Halloween (2018), as it did currently sits at having a $250 million box-office against a $15 million budget. Not only that, but there have been recent announcements of Friday the 13th coming back in the next few years, spearheaded by Lebron James’ production company, Springhill Entertainment, as well as hushed whispers of Robert England returning to the role of Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street series after donning the glove and sweater in the show The Goldbergs.

With slasher franchises attracting renewed interest, this could be the start of a new era for slashers. It could just be a lot of talk between actors and studios that goes nowhere as before with such projects, but if these endeavors are successful, then there could be hope for the genre regaining a bit of the spotlight it once had.

Lightly Fried Green Tomatoes

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The attention to film detail is ever-expanding, and the emphasis on societal traumas touched upon in film is larger now than it has ever been, particularly in terms of race and gender studies. Many films over the last few centuries host a variety of equivocal themes and questionable content, and even alarming, by today’s standards. To address such a field of study, Texas A&M University – Texarkana’s Dr. Drew Morton, alongside Rachel Stonecipher and Dr. Jaime Cantrell, hosted a screening of Jon Avnet’s Fried Green Tomatoes (1991).

As it turns out, this film adaptation deviates far from its original, textual source. According to Dr. Cantrell, the lesbian relationship between Idgie and Ruth and the depth of the African-American characters drive the plot of the book. The film mostly utilizes the murder case. This analysis reveals the tendency of Hollywood to create false scenarios and make adaptations that appeal to its audiences mindset, rather than explicitly reveal contexts. For example, as both Rachel Stonecipher and Dr. Cantrell discussed, the film uses nuances, such as the kitchen food fight between Idgie and Ruth, to suggest a lesbian relationship. The book makes known that the girls have romantic feelings toward one another.

This restraint can also be seen in relation to the African-American characters of the film. The book creates more depth and pulls from historical occurrences to create a more realistic scenario for the people of Whistlestop. The film deems the characters as simple people devoted entirely to helping their white counterparts. Big George being whipped by Georgian KKK members and, instead of crying for his own life, insisting that Idgie return indoors for her protection shows this. In this way, the film creators have managed to create a perfect fantasy land for viewers. There is no tension between African-American and Caucasian people.

Photo by Allison Hall

In the same regard, the lesbian relationship between Ruth and Idgie is also accepted in the text. However, the film adopts a certain amount of ambiguity that allows the viewer to decide whether this relationship actually exists. If the viewer decides that Ruth and Idgie are just good friends, then there is nothing controversial present and the story becomes a less dense, more feel-good scenario.

The film is a great example of Hollywood symbolism and strategic ambiguity that offers different contexts to a variety of audiences. A viewer today might read the scenarios differently than someone watching it in 1991, just as a twenty-year old will see something different from what a fifty-year old might. In the end, the lecture was an attempt to strike up a conversation about these types of Hollywood effects and to provide a specific situation in which this happens.

For more information, contact Dr. Drew Morton at dmorton@tamut.edu, Dr. Jamie Cantrell at jcantrell@tamut.edu, or Rachel Stonecipher at rstonecipher@tamut.edu.  

Our Campus Media Specialist 

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Casey Roberts. Photo by Stephen Parker

A&M Texarkana’s Multi-Media Specialist offers practical advice acquired from a lifetime of experience.

Casey Roberts’ sixth grade teacher wrote a note to his mother at the bottom of his final report card saying that he would have a career in TV or radio.

The teacher was correct. Inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Hall Of Fame in 2002, Roberts’s experience in multi-media production spans over 45 years.

“I’ve been doing this my whole life,” Roberts said. He started off at the age of 17 as a disk jockey for a small south Texas radio station, where he soon became the program director. The company that owned the radio station also had several cable TV stations, one of which his father was the general manager of here in Texarkana.

Roberts began producing local public access programs as well as cable ads.

“I was responsible for getting commercials on the air,” Roberts said. He also pioneered a system, now the norm, called “local commercial insertion,” where local cable commercials are seamlessly integrated with national ones.

Roberts’ passion and diligence were noticed. He would spend the next 35 years honing his craft in the markets of Louisville, Kentucky, and Las Vegas, Nevada, holding a range of positions.

One of Roberts’ favorite moments was filming an interview with Muhammad Ali, after his defeat to Larry Holmes in Louisville, 1980.

“He came down to our little studio and spent an hour and a half with us, then invited us to a party that evening, where we got to hang out with him,” Roberts said.

“I like to tell people, I shot for Playboy and Disney channels in the same day,” Roberts reflected.

His journey came full circle, returning to Texarkana in 2005 to help out family. As fortune would have it A&M Texarkana, at the old location, had an open position to teach mass media production and a studio that needed to be rebuilt. Roberts has been employed with A&M Texarkana for the last 12 years.

“What I taught was the difference in being in a high-school TV class and real professional broadcast standards,” Roberts explained, “The rules of television are the same, and it’s about production values and technical standards.”

Lessons from the popular mass media class, 417 Advanced Television Production, focusing on making documentaries.

Casey at work. Photo by Stephen Parker

“Documentaries require a more polished production; Learning how to shoot, interviewing people, doing research, doing reenactments covers many important aspects,” Roberts assures.

His most practical advice for students is: preplanning, knowing what you want to do and maintaining high technical standards.

Suggesting that students often have really good ideas in their head, but loose the intended message because they have not tried to see how their message might appear to someone first viewing the idea.

“Always a good idea to bounce things off other people,” Roberts said.

There are no current video production classes offered at A&M Texarkana because the lack of a TV studio “made it difficult to keep classes going,” Roberts allowed.

“I have two jobs here now,” Roberts stated, “Production, which is near and dear to my heart, and facilitating event technology.”

Eagle Hall hosts several big events throughout the year. He makes sure that everything technical is working and familiarizes speakers with the equipment, assuring any hiccups will be dealt with promptly, putting speakers at ease.

Roberts shares his thoughts on the necessity for media production classes at A&M Texarkana.

“All the things that go into a real comprehensive university are important. I think news/journalism and the media-arts are essential for a liberal-arts education, hopefully we get to that point. With the introduction of athletics there is a need to cover athletes and broadcast games, giving students a hands on opportunity to work within professional standards and guidelines. I hope we get TV multi-media back in the curriculum. There are ways to do it, even in conjunction with the community college where the studio sits.” Roberts concluding with, “It would add a lot to the atmosphere to the campus with students more involved.

Texarkana Play Fights Teen Domestic Violence

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Baby Girl 2: My Dad is Dope combats teen domestic violence at the Sullivan Performing Arts Center November 3rd Saturday 4:30pm and 7:00pm. Courtesy of Vanessa Jackson-Fields.

Local play writer and director Vanessa Jackson-Fields brings teen domestic violence awareness through her new play, Baby Girl 2: My Dad is Dope. New young actors and returning cast members demonstrated lesser-known warning signs and dangers of an abusive relationship at the Sullivan Performing Arts Center, 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday.

Newcomer Kiauna Smith portrays smart, outgoing, family-oriented, high-school valedictorian, college-bound Jasmine (Baby Girl) escaping from her former violent boyfriend, Marcus (Kameron Randle) a year after a relationship ended.

“It’s written around a young teenage girl that didn’t know the signs of an unhealthy relationship or a potential abuser, because usually they start off really nice, well-cut people, and you have to know the signs that they can potentially be an abuser. This show points out all the signs, especially this day and time”, said Vanessa Jackson-Fields.

The 15-year Anniversary play began with the early stages of obsession, control, and stalking in teen dating violence via today’s communication media: texting, phone calls, and emailing. “They become obsessed with you. Show up at your door when they’re not wanted, even though you told them not to. They keep you away from your family and friends and want you to be with them all the time”, said Jackson-Fields.

Domestic violence advocate and play writer, Vanessa Jackson-Fields poses in the Perot Theater, where her first play took place in 2003. Photo Credit Tiffany Brown

According to One Love Foundation and Joyful Heart Foundation, isolation is considered a domestic abuse warning sign. The family foundation also mentioned belittling, intensity, manipulation, and jealousy, which Jackson-Fields mentioned in her play. “You might think it’s because ‘Oh they just jealous’, and think it’s cute, but it’s not. Being jealous can be very dangerous. It’s like they have ownership over you. They believe you belong to them,” said Jackson-Fields.

Jackson-Fields included real-life scenarios of physical abuse, potential sexual abuse, and a horrific tragedy. “Shoving, grabbing and getting very angry. The play kind of shows a lot of that. It gets very graphic”, said Jackson-Fields.

Domestic teen violence does not discriminate against social class, race, gender, age, or family background. It can occur among upper and middle-class teenagers. “I always remember April Love. She came from a nice middle-class family. She was so smart and had a bright future. She was killed September 2005 by her boyfriend on a college campus. It was days before they found her. You never would’ve thought, she would be killed in an abusive relationship”, said Jackson-Fields.

According to The Telegraph UK writer Amanda Prowse, abuse can happen in middle-class families. In fact, middle class abuse cases are rarely reported, as seen in the teen domestic violence play. “Abuse is sweeping the country and nobody really pays attention, until someone loses their life”, said Jackson-Fields.

Jackson-Fields cast newcomers Isaiah Germany, Jashaun Wedlong, returning cast members Pastor Lamarcus Franklin, Tammie Harvey, Dr. Mary Phillips, and Connie Thompson as a supportive family, however their favorite baby girl, Jasmine found herself in a violent relationship. “This play is showing when you’re in these relationships, it not only affects you, but everybody around you”, said Jackson-Fields.

Domestic violence survivor turned advocate play writer, Vanessa Jackson-Fields. Photo Credit, Tiffany Brown.

The former abuse victim turned advocate encourages teen boys and girls to speak up before it’s too late. “I hope they learn okay I know he’s doing that, but I need to get away. Run! Get away from him or her! Go to your parents or somebody you know that will support you. Do not try to handle it alone or hold back, because you can’t. If they do it one time, that’s just a warning”, said Jackson-Fields.

If you are experiencing domestic violence or know someone that’s experiencing domestic violence please speak up or link to Texarkana Domestic Violence. Or call (903)-794-4000 or visit 424 Spruce St, Texarkana, TX 75501, 8-5.

PRODusing New Media

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You’re a senior in high school. You’re over halfway through the school year, and you’ve just spent the last four years of your life trying to forget that you’ve spent a good majority of it flipping through math, science, English, and history textbooks. You’re ready for your summer of freedom. But, that’s not going to happen. It’s time to decide your place in life. Your teachers tell you that college is nothing like high school. It’s hard. It’s tiring. You need to know what you’re doing before you do it, because there’s not much wiggle room. And all you can think about is what you haven’t been prepared for.

Our educators expect us to understand the world enough to know exactly what we should do with our lives, even at the age of ten. It’s a scary thought. But there lies the problem. People aren’t expected to have everything figured out once they reach college. However, our younger selves are somehow coerced into believing that picking a major field of study for higher education is a singular choice.

On the contrary, college is a place where learning the steps to make that decision actually takes place. The misconception that high school is where you make your final decision is just downright stressful. Some people get so worked up it actually decreases their likelihood of going to college. They feel so overwhelmed that their solution might be to wait it out. But education isn’t knowing everything in advance of doing it. If that were the case, we wouldn’t need education.

Venturing further into your academic career offers new discoveries and options everyday. The electives at Texas A&M University – Texarkana offer multiple teaching and learning styles, material, perceptions.

Photo by Allison Hall

One class in particular is Dr. Drew Morton’s Intro to Media Production course. The name suggests filmmakers would receive the most benefit, but anyone on campus can gain something. The course teaches students how to properly use DSLR Canon Rebel cameras for photography and video, and how to mash those clips together in Adobe Premiere. The course requires no necessary experience or skill (Hint: “Intro”). The series of projects in the course moves in an elegant and gradual way to ward away nerves about technique and to compliment your available skill set. The course is all about you: What do you want to make? What do you have to say? Film is an easy way to tell a story. A section of the class teaches you to do this without words. Visual elements can instill meaning into a person that words just can’t.

Photo by Allison Hall

One junior history major has ventured much further into the field of mass communication thanks to classes like this. Josh Wattigny has taken several MCOM classes and is now enrolled in Intro to Media Production. Prior to any of these, he hadn’t thought of branching out into media studies. Now, he has his own camera, equipment, and a YouTube channel. “I had an interest in learning about film history, and from there I found out that I really enjoyed everything that goes into film production. I wanted to learn more and make my own movies,” Josh said. The truth is, with or without a degree, we’re all involved in the field of mass communication.

You might think you know what you want, and maybe you do, but there’s always something else worth exploring. Something you might think is too hard, or not worth the time might turn into a consistent hobby, as it was for Josh. Here, we’re discussing videography, but maybe you have a knack for poetry or writing. So, a word of advice: get out there and take as many classes as you can. Wander around and find new media of expression. You never know what’s possible until you apply yourself in a new, scary, wonderful way.

Texas A&M University – Texarkana has some upcoming workshops and lectures you can use to test the waters. November events include a GIS (Geographic Information System) day hosted in the Digital Humanities Lab on November 14th, a Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) screening accompanied by discussion from Jaime Cantrell, Drew Morton, and Rachel Stonecipher on November 20th in Eagle Hall with a live podcast taping, and a walk-through of Audacity applications and podcast recording on November 27th at 12:15 in the Digital Humanities Lab. All these opportunities provide a variety of explorable content. Please check them out and don’t hesitate to ask questions.

“The Hate U Give” Still a Local Hit

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Photo Credit: My Hot Posters

“The Hate U Give” remains a cinematic hit in theaters. The book turned film drama was directed by George Tillman Jr. and released October 5, 2018 a day after screenplay writer Audrey Wells passed away October 4 2018.

Photo Credit: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

The teen drama depicts the double life of 16-year-old, shoe-collecting, Harry Potter fanatic, the quiet, innocent Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) living a double life as Hood Starr from a low-income African-American neighborhood, Garden Heights, and attending an upscale, predominately white private school, Williamson Prep with her brother, Seven (Lamar Johnson) a cool, intelligent, caring young black teenager.

The quiet, normal, yet double life of Starr/Starr 2.0 is shaken after witnessing the murder of her childhood friend, Khalil Harris (Algee Smith) by the police. Facing media outlets, police injustices, and battling her two worlds, Starr must find her voice within a chaotic situation for her friend Khalil. With the help of her parents Maverick Carter (Russell Hornsby), Lisa Carter (Regina Hall), two brothers Seven (Lamar Johnson) and Sekani (TJ Wright), and lawyer/activist April Ofrah (Issa Rae), neighbors, and friends, Starr finds comfort with her decision and her activism against police brutality.

Photo Credit: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

Despite its depiction of tragic loss, the PG-13 rated movie includes happy, light-hearted comedy, yet educational moments for all ages. Filmed throughout Atlanta, Georgia, the film earned a total worldwide gross so far at $29,679,543 according to boxofficepro.com.

The movie is also heavily influenced by iconic rapper Tupac Shakur. Author Angie Thomas wrote the book adapted into The Hate U Give inspired by Shakur’s lower-abdomen tattoo acronym definition of THUG LIFE.

Film critics and YouTube movie reviews encourage families of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities to see the film before it leaves theaters. Texarkana Cinemark’s showtime includes a 6:30 p.m. evening show and 11:55 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Saturday shows.

Director: George Tillman Jr.
Cast: Amandla Stenberg, Algee Smith, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Common, Issa Rae, KJ Apa, Lamar Johnson, Sabrina Carpenter, Anthony Mackie, Dominique Fishback
Screenwriter: Audrey Wells
Book Author: Angie Thomas

 

Retro Review: Clear as a Bell

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Courtesy: Filmways Pictures

Students interested in film might want to take a look at a classic that focuses on one of the more overlooked aspects of movie making.

The 1981 motion picture Blow Out is a deep dive into the world of sound. It is the story of a B-movie sound technician and his relationships with audio: analyzing, acquiring, following, and implementing.

The viewer is purposely made overtly aware of the process of hearing in the first scene. A masked slasher stalks around a girl’s dorm. He is breathing, stepping into, and sampling the vignettes of sorority life window by window.

As a first time viewer, one is ready to turn this trite trash off, but soon discovers the goings on are being observed by two sound men working on a film: Co-ed Frenzy. Elements of sound engineering are seen in the opening credits as analog level indicators are used as a wipe between names of folks in the film.

Our protagonist, Jack, played by John Travolta, needs to find the perfect scream to complete a project. Now starts the most interesting part of the movie for this viewer: seeing all the tape, the reel-to-reels spinning, cutting/splicing, and just remembering how the world of sound manipulation used to look before the most disappointing offering of sound throughout this film: the dialogue.

This is a good example of a movie resonating with one of its elements of production. The telephone scenes are filmed with care and make use of several Hollywood conventions: A to B cuts with the conversation, dialogue overlaps in a shot/reverse style, and picture by picture sharing both parties’ conversation. One scene uses what is now called autonomous sensory meridian response or ASMR. While Jack is trying to compile evidence he peruses the pages of a magazine. While doing so his hands are touching and turning the pages, making one cringingly aware of the texture. Then in a classic ASMR move, he cuts the pages with scissors slowly and loudly, creating tension through sound.

Another fun point is that Jack’s antagonist is also a sound man of sorts. Burke, played by John Lithgow, can be observed wearing a telephone service man’s uniform. He also uses sound against Jack by erasing all of his tapes and manipulating the sound of phone conversations.

[SPOILER AHEAD] Music is used efficiently to move the action along during car scenes and to transition between scenes. In the final act our hero attaches a “wire” to Sally, only to discover that unbeknownst to her the killer is there. Jack uses the transmitted audio to determine her whereabouts: hearing the turnstile, train whistle, and fireworks. Ultimately Jack does not save the girl. He does, however, save the audio created from her fatal encounter with Burke. He languishes over this sound-bite in a snow-covered cemetery, internalizing every plea for help and each frantic attempt to appeal to her killer. The last scene of the film echos the start: with two sound-guys engineering audio for a movie.

This time Jack got his great scream and is tortured by it, and rightfully so. One can only assume that the ending has something to do with how the film making process requires a creator to use sometimes painful personal elements of their real life to complete a project.

Twice the Sting: Ant-Man and the Wasp

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Image courtesy of Marvel Studios

With Black Panther, one of Marvel Studios’ most praised films, and Avengers: Infinity War, their highest grossing film so far, out of the way, was the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) successful in giving audiences one last thrill for the year?

In word: yes.

Image courtesy of Marvel Studios

In the follow-up to Peyton Reed’s 2015 superhero film, Ant-Man, our story picks up where the life of Scott Lang, once again played by Paul Rudd, has gone since he aligned with Captain America in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. He’s under house arrest after brokering a deal with the government. With only a few days left, and the superhero game behind him, Scott is inches away from freedom. However, he’s pulled back into the growing and shrinking shenanigans by Hope Van Dyne and Hank Pym, played by Evangeline Lily and Michael Douglas, when he begins to have mysterious visions of Hope’s long-lost mother, played by Michelle Pfieffer, within the immeasurably microscopic “Quantum Realm.” With Scott’s help, and with Hope donning her own shrinking suit, taking on the name of the Wasp, they might free her from her miniscule confines. Unfortunately, a phantasmic, cloaked woman who can walk through anything, referred to as Ghost, means to claim the energies of the Quantum Realm for herself, and our heroes must use their strengths, wits, and abilities to grow and shrink at will to stop her

While the previous film was enjoyable, it didn’t rank particularly high on my list of films from the MCU. The villain, Yellowjacket, felt like an uninteresting retread of Iron Monger from 2008’s Iron Man, Scott didn’t have a high enough personal stake when it came to helping Hank and Hope, Hope was insistently angry throughout most of the film, the humor didn’t always strike a chord, and the title hero wasn’t given enough dignity or credit for what he tries to accomplishes. With that in mind, I went into this film with a minimal set of expectations.

That said, I’m happy to announce that Ant-Man and the Wasp was a much better outing for the character.

Image courtesy of Marvel Studios

To begin with, the villain, Ghost, played by Hannah John-Kamen, is a far more interesting antagonist than what we saw before. Her motivation is a fairly unique one – her powers are killing her and she needs the Quantum Realm to fix it. This could spell danger for Hope’s mother, which is why the heroes are on the opposite end of things, but this doesn’t necessarily make her a bad person. Apart from that, the actress provides a fairly unsettling performance in some scenes, coming off as physically and emotionally erratic. While certainly not the best villain we’ve gotten out of the MCU, Ghost is among the most interesting in how different she is, in look, abilities, and motivation.

Image courtesy of Marvel Studios

Another positive that this film has over the other is the plot. The first film was a serviceable origin story with elements of a heist film, but  this film is a little more engaging. Apart from the race to keep Hank’s research out of the hands of Ghost, there are a few subplots being juggled around. We have one where Scott is trying to keep up the appearance that he’s back home and not pulling off illegal activities with Hank and Hope, another where a group of arms dealers, led by an amusingly Southern Walton Goggins, want Hank’s research as well, Scott’s old gang, with a returning Michael Péna doing his usual funny shtick, working on a security company, and Hank’s old colleague, played by Laurence Fishburne, getting involved. We see the return of Giant Man, there are car chases with shrinking and growing objects thrown into the mix, and psychedelic imagery could compete with Doctor Strange. There plot goes in many directions, but it never feels exhausting, and it all around felt fresher and more energized than the previous film.

Image courtesy of Marvel Studios

The biggest hurdle I felt the film had to leap was the relationship between Scott and the Pym’s. As I said, Scott didn’t feel as involved with the stakes of the plot as he should’ve been. Part of the reason behind that was his relationship with Hank and Hope. Hank treated him as a necessary helping hand and Hope, mostly, didn’t want anything to do with him. This got old for me fast, but, thankfully, they improved that here. Scott has a greater personal connection because he wants to make things right for stealing Hank’s suit, going to Germany without telling anyone, and causing his friend’s to be put on the FBI’s most wanted list for being associated with him. There’s a reason this time for people to dump on Scott as he made a massive mistake that dampened the bond between everyone, and you want to see them patch things up. Not to mention with Hope becoming the Wasp, which was a joy to see another classic character come to life, this allowed Rudd and Lily to have more moments of banter and camaraderie and much less of Hope being an angry, wet blanket. This not only improved Hope’s character, but her relationship with Scott, and eventual romance, feels much more authentic than it did before.

After so much had happened in Infinity War, it was nice to have a smaller (excuse the pun) adventure with Scott and the gang. It’s not a particularly deep film or a game changer in the superhero genre, not to mention being the 20thfilm of the MCU, certain points can be a little confusing to the uninitiated, but it is a visually pleasing, well acted, mostly funny, action packed film that served as a great closing for the summer and for the this year’s run of MCU films.

8/10

The film is available now in digital stores, and will be available next week on October 16 on DVD and BluRay.

The Nun is not Conjuring Audiences

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Strap in and get ready for the thrill of your life: another vaguely creepy priest movie has hit the theaters and you’ll predict every second of it! Sounds exciting, right? With October in its grasp, no wonder Hollywood has jumped on the spook factor and graced us with a fairly interesting line-up of horror films. Releases to look forward to include Blumhouse’s new take on an old John Carpenter classic, Halloween (2018), or the interesting mash-up of war and mutant experimentation, Overlord (2018). Recently released, however, was a new addition to a long-lasting series of intertwined films, The Conjuring and Annabelle film series. All have different names, except the direct sequels, such as Annabelle Creation (2017), a clever ploy to entice the viewer with only subtle linking that they feel they’ve discovered themselves. This could produce more viewers because they just have to know more. On September 6th, a film to tie up loose ends graced the market: The Nun (2018).

This film is an origin story (so it stands as a prequel of sorts) of a dark demon like figure, known as Valek. The character shows up somewhere around the release of the second Conjuring in the form of a nun, which isn’t surprising once you’ve sat through The Nun (2018). This looming figure follows a pair paranormal investigators (husband and wife), seemingly with no ties to them other than their career. The Nun (2018) changes that. 

Addressing characterization is crucial because it  provides the tone of the film. We all know what to expect when going into a horror film based on our experiences with similar films. However, the mood set in this film was off in comparison to those before it, particularly because of one character, Frenchie. The man is a lowly French-Canadian farmer in a small Romanian village. What throws the tone is his comedic nature. In this series, and many other possession films such as Constantine (2014) or The Rite (2011), there haven’t been characters that joke to this extent. At one point, he grabs a shotgun to fight off a demon and uses it to bludgeon a walking corpse, explaining that it wasn’t important enough to waste bullets. Later, in a more intense scene, he fires a shot exclaiming that the time was now appropriate. Whether this was character building is unclear. Frenchie becomes a conduit for the demon, so it’s possible that they were trying to offer this as foreshadowing. Or maybe the writers thought to try something new and get an audience reaction. Either way, I am not sure it worked. The film was less creepy because of it and was cringe worthy at times.

Another less than satisfying factor is the plot. Not to suggest that the audience shouldn’t know what to expect, but the extent to which the film fulfills these expectations makes it worn out and generic. The Vatican summons a priest and a not yet vowed Nun to investigate grounds where a sister committed suicide. They were to decide whether the grounds were holy (shocker: they’re not). Upon arriving they meet cheeky Frenchie, who takes them into the woods by carriage until the horse won’t go any further due to its fright. They then venture further into the woods, arriving at the convent standing next to a graveyard where plague victims were once buried. Long story short, they spend the movie finding out that the demon is Valek, who has claimed the lives of every nun who once roamed the castle halls. Predictable, right? And because it’s part of a running series, the show must go on. The film ends with Frenchie being possessed and exercised by the before mentioned investigators, clearing up the connection. The film spends over an hour and a half explaining something that could be said in ten minutes. I felt as though I had already seen the film before, and I was just waiting for the interconnection. The movie felt like a rush to produce something, despite its clean graphics and beautiful mise-en-scene.

In the end, the film is worth seeing. It’s not as exciting as other films nor is it as creative, but it is a missing piece to a puzzle with some important information. Maybe you should go on discount Tuesday at Texarkana’s Cinemark!

Check it out!

RRILH Event: Adobe Premiere Tutorial!

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Dr. Drew Morton will be kicking off the first of many events held in association with the campus’ newly opened Red River Innovation Lab for the Humanities – starting from humble beginnings with a tutorial on importing DVD/YouTube clips into Adobe Premiere!

Where: The Computer Lab in UC323

When: February 1st, from 12:15PM to 1PM.

This will be the first campus event of the semester closely associated with the RRILH. Feel free to come to the tutorial with questions about what the Lab is and what it can do for you!