DogHouse - Zomedy

The smart take on zombie-comedies always seem to come from the British. Who could resist the droll wit of the working class in Shaun of the Dead? Another entry in the growing popularity of zomedies, Doghouse sets up zany hijinks through the prism of guys with jilted girlfriends, recently divorced middle agers and well, just slackers. It's the weekend, time for all the boys to be boys, throw back pints, and be somebodies.

And yes, looking to get their yas-yas out, they encounter gulp...undead militant feminists! So the boys have to thwack these bio-weaponized undead, like the psycho hairdresser, Gothic bride and other flesh-obsessed bad girls. As visually pleasing as it is, Doghouse really scores with its acerbic, witty characters and sharp-edged satire.

Horror Music Masterpiece

Who could forget the strident violins in the shower sequence in Psycho? Or the 'duhduh-duhduh' in Jaws presaging the arrival of the Great White Terror? Some of the best horror films have the most memorable soundtracks: Halloween (original), Session 9, The Exorcist, Carnival of Souls, Suspiria, and the list goes on.

Released back in 2000 on BSI records, The Unspeakable by electronica musician Raz Mesinai (aka Badawi) is a rarity: a stand-alone soundtrack without a film. Using 3 vocalists, violins, viola, contrabass, harpsichord, piano and bass, Badawi creates an almost classical soundtrack reminiscent of old Hammer films, yet with aspects of 20th century music. But with 'doom dub,' off kilter vocals, and creepy counterpoint, this is one contemporary scary ride.



Creepy Vintage Doll: A Baaad Sign!

It begins with an orchestra tuning up, followed by applause. Then 'Intro/Chamber of Souls' morphs into a gentle, dissonant mix of wispy processed keyboards. Next, 'The Child Sleeps' begins with Badawi's feel for harmonizing weird vocals with strings and keyboards; this sound approach serves as a creative template for the rest of the piece. Until midway point, The Unspeakable also gives a nod to soundtracks like The Shining.

That film score included pieces from Ligeti and Pendereckski. These brooding, intense pieces stretched the limits of massed, solo, or small group violins, cellos, violas and more into truly ominous atmospheres. Badawi uses a much smaller group to achieve the same effect, but doesn't ignore the beats in the process. 'The Bitches' bustles with staccato, processed strings, while 'Skeleton Dub' sounds like a corrupted, hacked music box. Combining his talent for orchestrating, processing, mixing and picking like-minded musicians, Rez's The Unspeakable boasts that not all soundtracks need a film to call home. A welcoming ear will just do fine.

Next Up: Barry Adamson's film noirish Moss Side Story.



The Horrors of Darmstadt - Free Jazz Purgatory

 Sound Ignition, No Extinguisher

When I was a jazz DJ at U of T radio (CIUT) years ago, it was an exciting time; searching and acquiring prized recordings, attending gigs and meeting some musicians (like Andrew Cyrille!), and creating high octane radio mixes for my show (I called it 'Big Scary Music'). And yea, I recognized the almost Gothic aspect of some free jazz, like The Horrors of Darmstadt by Hession/Wilkinson/Fell. To say these guys pack a devilish wallop is an understatement; this is music forged out of a blast furnace, from the minds of diabolical alchemists seeking to rearrange matter itself.

Simon H. Fell on bass forms the backbone, lacing together drummer Paul Hession's thunderous turnarounds and saxophonist Alan Wilkinson's bellowing, almost lamentational tone. The trio have the din of live recording as well for good effect; recorded live in 1993, the dark, grimy sound adds a cavernous dimension. It's long and brutish, but these guys have a keen telepathy and collectively, over 40 years of improvising experience. Needlessly to say, hellishly good listening, if a bit taxing for the novice listener. For a 'lighter touch', try some free metallic jazz on Iron Path (Last Exit) and the Bugs-Bunny-on-uppers speedjazz of Spy vs Spy: The Music of Ornette Coleman from John Zorn.

Necrology History Updated: Brooks And McCullough

History hijacked promises ample opportunity for horror writers; it's a tradition stretching back to the late 18th beginnings of Gothic literature. Apparitions, portents and omens fueled the distress of disorder of those in 'respectable' society: dukes, kings, queens, royal heirs and other privileged aristocrats. Whereas the natural order of family tradition, indeed its very history, became corrupted and subject to annihilation, the modern version of such Gothic horror impacts society on an even a wider scale.  

Max Brooks, author of the seminal World War Z, invokes this sense of worldwide, historical apocalyptic doom. Instead of ghosts or demons, we encounter the familiar image of the zombie: a wretched, amoral shell. In the graphic novel collection, The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, Brooks cleverly uses this modern Gothic icon, integrating it with the sweep of history, from ancient to medieval to modern.

Was Hadrian's Wall really meant to repel the Picts and Celts, rather than zombified tribes from beyond even those remote lands? Did Francis Drake discover an 'Isle of the Undead' instead of El Dorado? Did WW2 Japanese soldiers hone their skill at head shots by aiming at those shambling targets? Treating zombie outbreaks as pivotal points in history, from the dawn of humanity in Africa 60,000 BC to an infection spreading by a lone carrier to modern Los Angeles, makes Brook's take like a cool, nerdy secret history.

Ibraim Roberson artwork in Recorded Attacks is a rare treat, full of zombies with necrotic, putrid musculature, and doesn't suffer from lack of colour. It's gritty, gnarly and robust; just the kind of stark illustrations once championed by EC horror comics, and those cherished Creepy and Eerie issues of my misspent youth.

A whole different bag of bones, Zombies: A Hunter's Guide, is your complete introduction to zombies. It's full of alternative history, conspiracy theories, IDing different zombie types and takedown methods, anti-meatbag weapons, containment teams in the Zombie War, and other creative riffs on necrology. Nicely illustrated by Mariusz Kozik, with all sorts of interesting sidebars written by McCullough, Zombies is well worth owning. Learn about Miskatonic Univeristy, boasting 10,000 volumes on 'animate necrology'; the Vikings discovery of draugr, literally walking corpses; voodoo zombies and their place in Haitian history; and why atomic zombies pose the greatest threat. And if you have a itch to blast some necro to bits, McCullough gives a detailed map and method for clearing rooms.

Plants vs Zombies

I alway thought carnivorous plants could be the achille's heel of shambling zombie hordes. Those freaks need blood, sinew, muscle, and most of all BRAAAINNNSS! Chlorophyll doesn't cut for these maniacs, and if you spruce up a plant with the gene pool of any carnivore hunter or rev it with weapon upgrades, you got a real showdown on your hands. It's total laugh riot playing my download of side-scroller game, Plants vs Zombies. Play as a defender of garden and home, arming youself with zombie-annihilation tech: peashooters, potato mines, walnut bowlers, jawed flowers and more crazy cartoon stuff. It's one of the many excellent mobile games thankfully ported to PS3. Now, maybe JJ Abrams can do a movie version!  

Mainstream Film Reviewers Don't Get Genre Pictures

I'm always disappointed in daily newspaper coverage of genre films. They all seem to focus on the traditional film formulae: strong, sympathetic characters, complex or heart-felt drama, and star appeal. But that's where sci-fi/horror/fantasy genre pictures differ. It's all about concept and the execution of bizarre ideas. So I thought it best years ago to avoid daily film reviewers, especially for example, when Session 9 was virtually ignored. Whereas mainstream film focuses on character and drama, hor/sci/fantasy films champion melodrama and servicable characters that propel plot, the thrills the make us all dedicated, white-knuckle fans!

Adopting Mobile Media as Techniques in Recent Sci-fi/Horror Films

Recently seeing Monsters prompted me to think about the use of cell phones, PDAs, camcorders and other mobile devices in recent sci-fi/horror films. Cloverfield, Quarantine, District 9 and Monsters all employ this guerrilla technique, the view of the common observer in happenstance circumstances.  Adding this point-of-view adds dramatic tension, lending a more ominous glow to invading aliens, infected crazies,and resident intergalactic immigrants. As a bonus, it masks the sterility of CGI and probably saves on effects budgets. Shot from the p.o.v of one the characters on the run from Manhattan, Cloverfield ramps up the sheer surprise terror of a rampaging beast. That familiar greenish nightvision glow can get a bit tiring sometimes though, but it saved Quarantine from merely being ho-hum (especially the last 20-25 minutes). And District 9 played out like a documentary complete with invented news reports, interviews and intimate glimpses into Wikus Van De Merwe's character.