Screenings in the Bay (Friday to Sunday): The Endless, Dead Man, Vampire Clay

Yes, this is a the kind of Friday I like to see: one with plentiful horror and genre film playing all over the bay area! We have two new movies coming to theatres in the San Francisco area, one of which was a last minute addition to Monday's Screenings in the Bay post. The Endless will be at the Alamo Drafthouse starting tonight and will be playing into next week! I'd recommend catching it this weekend if possible, because the showtimes are much earlier next week. And if you took my advise and got tickets for the 7:30 show, you'll also get to see an intro by directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, as well as a Q&A. There are still tickets left for the 10:15pm show, which will also be introduced by the pair.

But what if I'm not into movies about cults?? Well, Midnites for Maniacs also has something going on tonight! They've teamed up with Spoke Art once more to present the 4K restoration of Dead Man, AND give attendees the opportunity to buy the limited run of the print shown below. There are only 100 of these printed! And be sure to stick around at the Roxie afterwards so you can catch the only screening of Vampire Clay that they have scheduled! It looks insane!

Opening This Week

Ghost Stories (2018)

Select Theatres/VOD Friday 20th (1hr 38min)

Drama/ Horror (IMDB)

Experience three spine-tingling tales of terror to haunt your dreams. A debunker of all thing paranormal, Professor Phillip Goodman (Andy Nyman) has devoted his life to exposing phony psychics and fraudulent supernatural shenanigans on his own television show. His skepticism is put to the test, however, when he receives a file of three chilling, inexplicable cases: a night watchman (Paul Whitehouse) haunted by disturbing visions as he patrols an abandoned asylum; an edgy young man (Black Mirror's Alex Lawther) involved in a hellish car accident deep in the woods; and a wealthy former banker (Sherlock's Martin Freeman) visited by the poltergeist spirit of his unborn child. Even scarier: each of these macabre stories seems to have sinister connection to Professor Goodman's own life. WIll they make a believer of him yet?

Traffik (2018)

Opens Friday 20th (1hr 36min)

Thriller (IMDB)

In the action packed thriller, Traffik, Brea (Paula Patton) and John (Omar Epps) are off for a romantic weekend in the mountains. Isolated at a remote estate, the couple is surprised by the arrival of two friends, Darren (Laz Alonso) and Malia (Roselyn Sanchez). Just when the weekend starts to get back on track, a violent biker gang turns up and begins to torment them. The foursome are forced to fight for their lives against the gang who will stop at nothing to protect their secrets. The film is written and directed by Deon Taylor, and produced by Roxanne Avent, Paula Patton and Taylor. 

Alamo Drafthouse

The Endless (2018)

Friday 20th @ 7:30pm & 10:15pm (1hr 51min)

Saturday 21st @ 7:25pm & 9:50pm

Sunday 22nd @ 4:55pm & 9pm

Horror/ Sci-Fi/ Suspense (Rotten Tomatoes)

Following their Lovecraftian modern cult classic SPRING, acclaimed filmmakers Moorhead and Benson return with this mind-bending thriller that follows two brothers who receive a cryptic video message inspiring them to revisit the UFO death cult they escaped a decade earlier. Hoping to find the closure that they couldn't as young men, they're forced to reconsider the cult's beliefs when confronted with unexplainable phenomena surrounding the camp. As the members prepare for the coming of a mysterious event, the brothers race to unravel the seemingly impossible truth before their lives become permanently entangled with the cult.

Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead will intro both showtimes on Friday 20th,

& do a Q&A after the 7:30 show!

Roxie Theatre

Midnites 4 Maniacs 

+

Spoke Art

Dead Man (1995)

Friday 20th @ 7pm (2hrs)

Drama/ Fantasy/ Western (IMDB)

Jim Jarmusch takes his quirky, uniquely modern sensibilities back in time, with this western black comedy about a city slicker turned gunfighter, on the run with an enigmatic Indian buddy in the Northwest wilderness.

4K Resotation!

Nippon Nights Presents

Vampire Clay (2017)

Friday 20th @ 9:15pm (1hr 20min)

Horror (Rotten Tomatoes)

A plasticine demon devours the denizens of a rural art school.

By George!

The Crazies (1973)

Saturday 21st @ 9:30pm (1hr 41min)

Horror/ Thriller (IMDB)

David Dutten is sheriff of Ogden Marsh, a picture-perfect American. But one night, one of them comes to a school baseball game with a loaded shotgun, ready to kill. Another man burns down his own house, after locking his wife and young son in a closet inside. Something is infecting the citizens of Ogden Marsh -- with insanity. In an effort to keep the madness contained, the government uses deadly force to close off all access and won't let anyone in or out -- even those uninfected. The few still sane find themselves trapped: Forced to band together, an ordinary night becomes a horrifying struggle for survival as they do their best to get out of town alive.

By George!

There's Always Vanilla (1971)

Sunday 22nd @ 7:30pm (1hr 33min)

Drama/ Horror (Rotten Tomatoes)

In this romantic melodrama, a recently-discharged young army veteran finds a girlfriend who is willing to support him. When she discovers that she is pregnant, she goes through a lot of soul-searching. Landing on his feet, the army veteran decides to take up his father's offer of a job.

Stanford Theatre

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Friday 20th @ 7:30pm (1hr 15min)

Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd @4:40pm & 7:30pm

Drama/ Horror/ Sci-Fi (IMDB)

Dr. Frankenstein is forced to tempt fate once again by creating a suitable mate for his monster.

-with-

Frankenstein (1931)

Friday 20th @ 6:05pm (1hr 10min)

Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd @ 6:05pm & 8:55pm

Drama/ Horror/ Sci-Fi (IMDB)

"Frankenstein" is a film about a mad, obsessed scientist, Dr. Henry Frankenstein", who creates a monster, by taking body parts from dead people. Upon placing a brain inside the head of the monster, Henry and his assistant Fritz are amazed that the experiment is alive. When the monster mistakenly kills Maria, a young girl he meets down by the river, the town is up in arms and aims to bring the monster to justice. They find the monster and his creator in an old windmill, where the monster is attempting to kill his maker.

-Huntress

Bluray Tuesday Featuring: The Skulls, Deep Blue Sea 2 & The Commuter

April 17th 2018

Another new week is here, and it comes with new blurays to add to our collections! This week is a bit lighter than weeks past, so it's a nice break on the wallet. Deep Blue Sea 2 is up first today. The original came out in 1999 and I remember liking it so t'm looking forward to this one. 90's thirller, The Skulls is out on bluray for the first time. It's been a while since I saw this one. There are also two direct to DVD sequels to this film I have been meaning to check out. Only at SRS Cinema website is an exclusive bluray for indie film Slaughter Drive, which sounds promising or at the very least entertaining. The biggest releases of this week are the new Liam Neeson action mystery film, The Commuter, and Meryl Streep's new film The Post. So what will you be buying, renting or skipping this week? Let us  know in the comments. Until next week!

Deep Blue Sea 2: Amazon - $17.99

When shark conservationist Dr. Misty Calhoun is invited to consult on a top-secret project run by pharmaceutical billionaire Carl Durant, she is shocked to learn that the company is using unpredictable and highly aggressive bull sharks as its test subjects, which soon break loose and cause havoc.

 

The Skulls: Best Buy - $19.99

Luke McNamara, a college senior from a working class background joins a secret elitist college fraternity organization called "The Skulls", in hope of gaining acceptance into Harvard Law School. At first seduced by the club's trapping of power and wealth, a series of disturbing incidents, such as his best friends suicide, leads Luke to investigate the true nature of the organization and the truth behind his friends supposed suicide. He starts realizing that his future and possibly his life is in danger.

 

The Commuter: Amazon - $19.99

4K: Amazon - $24.99

Insurance salesman Michael is on his daily commute home, which quickly becomes anything but routine. After being contacted by a mysterious stranger, Michael is forced to uncover the identity of a hidden passenger on the train before the last stop. As he works against the clock to solve the puzzle, he realizes a deadly plan is unfolding, and he is unwittingly caught up in a criminal conspiracy that carries life and death stakes for everyone on the train.

 

 

The Post: Amazon - $19.99

4K: Amazon - $24.99

Katharine Graham is the first female publisher of a major American newspaper -- The Washington Post. With help from editor Ben Bradlee, Graham races to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spans three decades and four U.S. presidents. Together, they must overcome their differences as they risk their careers -- and very freedom -- to help bring long-buried truths to light.

 

 

Day of The Reaper: Amazon - $34.99

This low budget super-8 slasher follows five women on vacation as they are stalked by a hooded cannibal killer in the town of Sunnyville, Florida.

    

Honor Up: Amazon - $20.99

A drug lord's lieutenant struggles to maintain the code of honor — protect the family — within his unruly crew after a Harlem shootout.

 

 Slaughter Drive: SRS Cinema - $24.99

"When failed filmmaker Doug Stevenson leaves his video camera in the local park overnight he accidentally records something horrific. To top it off it might have something to do with his new neighbors that moved into his quiet suburban neighborhood. With the help of his bumbling teacher buddies Doug goes on a wild ride to save himself, his friends, his ex-wife, and the entire neighborhood! Featuring a killer throwback soundtrack and splattery practical FX find out who will stay alive on Slaughter Drive!"

 

-The Impostor

Screenings in the Bay (Monday to Friday): Basket Case 2, Idle Hands, Vampire Clay, Ministry of Fear, The Endless

So many of the bay area's theatres make an appearance in this week's movie highlights, and everyone has something good playing! We start the week with something I've been wanting to watch for years... Basket Case 2! This will be screening in glorious 35mm at the Alamo Drafthouse as the Terror Tuesday movie of the week. On this same night, the San Francisco International Film Festival comes to a close for the year.

The middle of the week is dominated by the Stanford Theatre's fear double feature, which will happen on both Wednesday and Thursday. I love the Stanford, and they have so many cool movies coming up, it seems like the perfect time to visit.

And Friday is also a busy day, as Midnites for Maniacs brings Dead Man to the Roxie Theatre, followed by the Nippon Nights series screening of Vampire Clay, which sounds absolutely insane.

Hope you guys can make it out to the movies this week!

[EDIT] The Endless has been added to the Alamo Drafthouse's calendar, starting this Friday 20th! And directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead will be in attendance! They will intro both the 7:30pm and the 10:15pm showtimes, and also do a Q&A after the 7:30 show. If you can't make it to these times, the film will also screen all weekend and next week.

Alamo Drafthouse

*Opening This Week*

The Endless (2018)

Friday 20th @ 7:30pm & 10:15pm (1hr 51min)

Horror/ Sci-Fi/ Suspense (Rotten Tomatoes)

Following their Lovecraftian modern cult classic SPRING, acclaimed filmmakers Moorhead and Benson return with this mind-bending thriller that follows two brothers who receive a cryptic video message inspiring them to revisit the UFO death cult they escaped a decade earlier. Hoping to find the closure that they couldn't as young men, they're forced to reconsider the cult's beliefs when confronted with unexplainable phenomena surrounding the camp. As the members prepare for the coming of a mysterious event, the brothers race to unravel the seemingly impossible truth before their lives become permanently entangled with the cult.

Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead will intro both showtimes on Friday 20th,

& do a Q&A after the 7:30 show!

Also Screening All Weekend

It's Okay By Me

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

Monday 16th @ 10:15pm  (1hr 56min)

Action/ Crime/ Drama (IMDB)

William Friedkin's crime thriller, based on a book by U.S. Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich, concerns an arrogant Secret Service official who wants to get his man at any price. Willem Dafoe plays Eric Masters, an ultra-smooth counterfeiter who has managed to sidestep the police for years. He is so up-front about his dealings, in fact, that when some undercover agents try to make a deal with him at his health club, Eric tells them, "I've been coming to this gym three times a week for five years. I'm an easy guy to find. People know they can trust me." But when young and eager Secret Service agent Richard Chance (William L. Petersen) finds out that his partner has been cold-bloodedly murdered by Eric, he trains his relentlessness upon capturing Eric -- whether it means robbery, murder, or exploiting his friends and associates. As Chance erases the dividing line between good and evil, he drags his new partner John Vukovich (John Pankow) and Ruth Lanier (Darlanne Fluegel), an ex-con, down into the maelstrom with him.

Terror Tuesday

Basket Case 2 (1990)

Tuesday 17th @ 9:45pm (1hr 30min)

Comedy/ Horror (IMDB)

Apparently not dead as the ending of the first Basket Case movie led viewers to believe, the Bradley brothers, those severed Siamese twin brothers--one normal, the other the malformed " basket case,"--are back in business in this sequel. Here they escape their hospital confinement and head to a local freak house where they hope to live happily ever after. Unfortunately they're tracked by a tabloid reporter who's after the scoop of the decade. This is unabashedly violent and wackoed fanfare made only for aficionados of depraved and disgusting drivel. Apparently there are enough of these viewers to warrant this follow-up film!

Weird Wednesday

Joy Sticks (1983)

Wednesday 18th @ 9:45pm (1hr 28min)

Comedy (IMDB)

A businessman's (Joe Don Baker) threat to close down their beloved video arcade prompts a group of teens to fight for their rights in this comedy also known as Video Madness.

Balboa Theatre

AniMondays

Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)

Monday 16th @ 7:30pm (1hr 42min)

Animation/ Drama/ Fantasy (IMDB)

Hiroyuki Okiura and Mamoru Oshii follow up on their landmark animation feature Ghost in the Shell with this despotic sci-fi flick that fuses fascism, Hitchcock, and Little Red Riding Hood. The film opens with a detailed retelling of an alternate postwar Japanese history. A massive industrialization policy sharply separates the haves from the have nots, resulting in crime, protests, and riots. In an effort to curb the power of armed militia groups, the Tokyo City government sets up an elite group of paramilitaries called the Capitol Police Organization. Instead of peace and harmony, the presence of this new force only encourages the terrorists to unify, and full-scale war erupts in the streets. Cut to a street riot in process, and a young high schooler in a red coat making a bomb hand-off. Later, the Capitol Police catch her and her terrorist comrades in the Tokyo sewers. While her cohorts get gunned down mercilessly, the girl -- after the cop nearest to her fails to pull the trigger -- blows herself up instead. The cop, Kazuki Fuse, survives with a few scratches thanks to his stormtrooper-like armor, but suffers both psychological and professional damage. Aside from the mental and career traumas, he is also made the scapegoat for the incident. Soon afterwards, he meets a young lass named Kei Amemiya who says she is the dead girl's elder sister. As the two make furtive efforts toward a romance, Kazuki finds himself increasingly embroiled in a complex web of lies and deceit between the Capitol Police Organization and the Tokyo Police department.

Roxie Theatre

Film School Rejects Presents

Idle Hands (1999)

Wednesday 18th @ 9:30pm (1hr 32min)

Comedy/ Fantasy/ Horror (IMDB)

The devil will find work for idle hands to do, so what happens when he goes on the prowl for a partner in crime and ends up with an utterly clueless 17-year-old slacker? The result is a lot more moronics than demonics in the wry comedy-horror IDLE HANDS. Anton Tobias wakes up Halloween morning to discover-after watching some TV and perusing the contents of the fridge, oblivious to the pool of blood on the floor-that his parents have been turned into a couple of headless Halloween decorations. After hanging out with his equally irresponsible friends, Mick and Pnub, Anton discovers that his right hand has a very bloodthirsty mind of its own, and it's hell-bent on wreaking deadly havoc with or without him. Will the gates of Hell open wide at the high school Halloween Dance and drag an innocent soul into eternal damnation? They just might in IDLE HANDS, when the forces of good and evil face off in a showdown full of diabolical comedy and bloodcurdling terror.

Midnites for Maniacs Presents

Dead Man (1995)

Friday 20th @ 7pm (2hrs)

Drama/ Fantasy/ Western (IMDB)

Jim Jarmusch takes his quirky, uniquely modern sensibilities back in time, with this western black comedy about a city slicker turned gunfighter, on the run with an enigmatic Indian buddy in the Northwest wilderness.

Nippon Nights

Vampire Clay (2017)

Friday 20th @ 9:15pm (1hr 20min)

Horror (Rotten Tomatoes)

A plasticine demon devours the denizens of a rural art school.

Stanford Theatre

Ministry of Fear (1944)

Wednesday 18th & Thursday 19th @ 7:30pm (1hr 26min)

Crime/ Drama/ Noir (IMDB)

An innocent man is drawn into a web of espionage when he unwittingly comes into possession of a crucial piece of microfilm in this shadowy, ominous film noir. Fritz Lang's adaptation of Graham Greene's novel is filled with unusual touches, beginning with the fact that protagonist Stephen Neale (Ray Milland) has just been released from a mental asylum. To celebrate his return to the real world, he visits a local carnival, only to accidentally receive a "prize" meant for a Nazi agent. When he discovers the error, he turns for help to a detective, whose investigations only make the matter more complicated. Neale soon winds up on the run from both the Nazis and the police, who mistakenly believe him guilty of murder.

-with-

Journey into Fear (1942)

Wednesday 18th & Thursday 19th @ 6:10pm & 9:10pm (1hr 8min)

Drama/ Noir/ Thriller (IMDB)

In this film, Joseph Cotten stars as an American gunnery engineer up to his armpits in international intrigue. Targeted for extermination by the Gestapo, Cotten secretly books passage on a steamer bound to Batumi. From the outset, it is no secret that one of the passengers is a Nazi assassin.

Victoria Theatre

SFIFF

Ravenous (2017)

Monday 16th @ 8:45pm (1hr 44min)

Horror (IMDB)

In a small, remote village in upstate Quebec, things have changed. Locals are not the same anymore--their bodies are breaking down and they have turned against their loved ones. A handful of survivors goes hiding into the woods, looking for others like them.

-Huntress

Digging Up the Dirt with KillDozer and Carl King, Composer and Filmmaker

Conventions are a place to discover what's new while paying tribute to the past, and there is no better convention to discover new artists than Son of Monsterpalooza in Burbank, CA. Artists, writers, painters, directors, actors, and everyone in between gather to make new friends and show the community all the amazing things they are capable of. It is at this convention that I met and shook hands with the future legends of film. One such artist is composer Carl King whose music is exciting and inspiring. I was lucky enough to dig up the dirt with Carl and find out how he creates these incredible sounds for the screen. 

KillDozer: I can honestly say that your album THE ARCANOSIS is spot on one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. Each track immediately inspires scenes and situations in my mind that don't actually exist on screen. Do you have a plot or back story in mind when composing?

Carl King: That's crazy, thank you! For most of my life I did not write Program Music. I have focused on Absolute Music. For those who don't know what the difference is, Program Music is written for to accompany something else, like a movie or play or video game or commercial. I was always told that I should be writing for video games (probably because my sounds were so cheap in the old days) but I was too much of an egomaniac to write Program Music. I always thought, "Why should my music need an excuse, or be in the background of something else?" As I have gotten older I'm totally into it. Besides, I love film scores. But it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I started learning to score. It is a totally different process from writing music for its own sake. But here's where I am lucky: for the past 10 years I have worked professionally as a video editor. And I have come to realize that the editing of video and scoring of music are the same thing. So I was instantly able to switch into writing music from the brain of a video editor, and suddenly it's very easy. Without that experience it would have been a huge challenge and I don't know if I'd be able to make sense of it. Some of the tracks on THE ARCANOSIS are homework assignments from my Berklee film scoring classes. Some were just made up without any visuals. The big difference, I think, is that you don't need a whole lot of instrumentation and complexity to make a point when scoring to a visual. Just a few notes that might seem pointless otherwise can totally do the job when there's a visual happening. It requires a lot of restraint. 

KillDozer: You cover all the bases from fantasy to sci-fi but do you have a personal favorite when writing music? Why would you choose one genre over another?

Carl: I love writing heroic adventure melodies. It's the most satisfying part of composing. Second, I love horror music, since it's based on so much 20th century composition. I am hoping to get to write a ton of that for a new documentary I'm going to be scoring soon. Today there was even mention of adding death metal in the score.


KillDozer: I was lucky enough to meet and speak with you at a convention. Have you had a good response to your work at conventions? What other ways do you get the word out about your incredible work?

Carl: Most people just walk right by my booth when I'm at a convention, but I'm not really there to reach a general audience. So far I've gotten 3 small scoring projects from last year's conventions. I happened to meet 3 super creative people I am collaborating with right now. I'm going to be writing an orchestral suite for the comic book called "Guns A Blazin" which is a Western Sci-Fi Time Travel / Dimensional Travel adventure series by Mike Wellman. I just wrote a short theme for a LeeAnna Vamp project, and I'm also doing some music for this unbelievable sculptor named Dug Stanat. I met them all at my convention booths and we hit it off.


KillDozer: How long does it take you to compose a piece? Do you ever abandon pieces? If so, why?

Carl: It's not too often that I have to abandon a piece. It happens sometimes, when I am just experimenting. When I have an actual project I'm more focused on getting it right and I fall back on my skills. I've been writing music for something like 30 years, so it's mostly a very familiar and structured process. I think I might work very fast, but I don't have much to compare myself to. The last time I measured it was around a minute of music per hour. But orchestrating (assigning all the notes to various instruments and setting all the articulations) maybe triples the time required. It's not a mysterious process, and it's all based on "the language of music" (music theory). There's only one album I made where I just hit a dead end, and that was Dr. Zoltan / Why I Am So Wise, Why I Am So Clever, And Why I Write Such Good Songs. The album had a ton of great ideas but I just wasn't able to expand on them. That was back before I learned about Theme and Variation. So that album ended up being a bunch of short blasts of ideas that would suddenly end and move on to the next. Very frustrating.


KillDozer: The artwork for the albums is always epic and fun. Who does the artwork and do you think the cover says it all?

Carl: Thank you! Lance Myers has been my cover artist for my last few albums. I will usually give him some reference images and say "can you do something in this style?" and he does his thing. He's really awesome and I am so glad I found him. He is based in Austin, TX and I believe he works as a full-time animator for a video game company. I've never met him in person and never even talked to him on the phone. Having a cover that represents the sensibilities of the music is so important.


KillDozer:  Tell us about GRAND ARCHITECTS OF THE UNIVERSE. The list of musicians involved reads like a super group. How did you go about putting this project together and recruiting the talent?

Carl: GRAND ARCHITECTS OF THE UNIVERSE was my return to music after that Dr. Zoltan album I messed up. I took pretty much 10 years off music and focused on the video editing career. A quick aside, one reason I "quit" music for 10 years was because I developed a sensitivity to sound after being in a car accident. I wasn't physically injured, but I was in the passenger seat sleeping when the accident happened on the freeway at night. It was raining, and I woke up to a huge black SUV slamming into us head-on, and being thrown into a wall. We were trapped there for I don't know how long, with more cars crashing into us in the dark, and I thought I was going to die. Supposedly I ended up with PTSD from it. I've been different after the accident, developed extreme anxiety and panic attacks, and very sensitive to sound, which made me not able to listen to music for a long time. I still listen to music very rarely, but I am at least able to listen again and make my own.

It really is my idea of a super group, and I have so many musician friends from working in video production that I was able to ask them to play on my record. I'm not even sure most of them knew I was a musician. It was kind of like "Oh, I guess Carl makes music, too. Huh." So pretty much everyone on the album I was already friends with or had worked with before on video projects. Aside from Travis Orbin. Luckily he remembered some of my music from years earlier and was willing to play on the record.


KillDozer: You and I connected over the Mr. Bungle track you did on Arcanosis. Have you always been a fan of theirs? Do you naturally gravitate toward "progressive" musicians when listening to music? Is that a conflict when scoring?

Carl: I have been a Mr. Bungle fan from the very first moment I heard the first track on their debut, which was a cassette at the time. I took it home and listened through headphones and I was so amazed. I faked sick the next day so I could stay home from school and listen to the album on repeat. I waited until my friends started getting home from school so I could call them and play them the cassette over the phone. Mr. Bungle was instantly my favorite band. I ended up befriending Trey years later when I moved to San Francisco. We did a vague buddy deal to release my Sir Millard Mulch / How To Sell... album on his Mimicry label. I learned a lot from listening to Mr. Bungle, and I've gone on to really love some of these recent Secret Chiefs 3 albums. One of my favorites is Book of Souls: Folio A. Such an asymmetrical collection of music, and I love the orchestration on it. Especially through headphones. Regarding progressive music vs. scoring... there are elements that are so similar. But scoring isn't about showing off the music. It always has to be secondary to the visuals, so I need to hold back. There are restrictions, because you need to compliment what is already there, the style of the project. I will say that my favorite scores lately are from Jeff Russo, the guy who did the Fargo and Legion TV shows. It's over the line and brilliant. It's one of those situations where the music can be too loud for normal tastes and can be the awkward star of a scene. I have heard the director Noah Hawley is involved with forcing that aesthetic as well, because I haven't heard those same choices in Jeff Russo's other scoring projects. It's maybe a similar thing you'd hear in a Kubrick film, where the music has such a strong identity, in a shocking way. I'm thinking of Eyes Wide Shut, that striking piano theme by Ligeti that's just 2 notes. It's so obnoxious and great.

KilDozer: Tell us about "The Oracle of Outer Space" project. Where did the inspiration come from? How can we support it?

Carl: The Oracle of Outer Space -- I came up with the concept before I started work on Grand Architects. I bought this big Cintiq screen and started studying drawing and animation. I was going to animate it myself. Anyway, I came up with the concept not too long before that when I was on vacation with my wife. We had gone out to Las Vegas for a few days. I am a HUGE Art Bell and old Coast To Coast AM fan from back in the day. Used to listen to him all night when I was driving around in Florida, and had to flip from one station to the next to hear him as I drove. On a whim, since we were in Las Vegas, my wife and I decided to drive out to Parumph and peek at his house. We drove by, pointed at it, "wow there it is" and kept going. Didn't want to disturb him. It was so wild that this is where all of it came from. This small house in a small town (and of course the great mind of Art Bell). I think the next day we decided to head out near Area 51. We ended up at this little trailer park in the middle of nowhere, and these people had built a sort of visitor's center / cafe in one of them called The Little A'Le'Inn. On the walls were polaroids of famous conspiracy theorists I used to read. I just got this "vibe" that brought back memories of listening to Art Bell all night, and how could I try to pay tribute to that somehow? It was a sentimental feeling I wanted to capture. I don't know how well I did that by this point in the process, but it is a show about the last AM radio station in outer space. So that's the original inspiration. I hired a couple of my old friends to write it with me. Level Nivelo and HisCheapMoves. Long-time collaborators on many of my projects. Details can be found on OracleOfOuterSpace.com.


KillDozer: What is your work space like when writing and recording? Do you work in quiet or seek out things for inspiration?

Carl: My work space is totally underwhelming. I work in quiet. I have a desk with a laptop and external monitor, some hard drives, and a second computer (Mac Pro) that I have most of my samples on. The two computers are networked together, so I have most of the samples coming from the Mac Pro, and the audio and MIDI data on the laptop. I input all of the notes with the mouse, one at a time, in Cubase. Click click click. If I play something it's usually guitar or bass, and for that I run them through a Fractal Audio Axe-FX II XL+. For overdubs I have a Shure KSM32 and a Millennia preamp, and a Universal Audio interface. It's actually a very tiny setup. I could do most of my composing just on my laptop from anywhere. There can be a lot of pressure to have all this expensive equipment, and to feel you can't make anything "real" and worthwhile with just a few inexpensive things. But I've never had a "pro" studio in my life. I get by with the minimum. I have good sound libraries and plugins (which I pay for, by the way, no file-sharing here, proud of that) but honestly most of what I have fits on my office desk. I have some typical KRK 8s and a KRK 10s Sub that I monitor and mix through.


KilDozer: What should people expect from your podcast? Where can we go to listen in?

Carl: My podcast is really falling behind. I have 5 or 6 episodes recorded that I have not released yet. The Carl King Podcast is on iTunes, Soundcloud, YouTube, etc. I've interviewed Steve Vai, Mike Keneally, Trey Spruance of Mr. Bungle (unreleased), Mark Borchardt of American Movie, Travis Orbin, etc. Whoever I feel like talking to. There are no rules to it and no regular schedule. I love doing it, but I have very little time to devote.


KillDozer: What do you like or dislike about modern film scores? How do you feel about the return to synth heavy scores that we have been experiencing the last few years?

Carl: This is only my opinion, and you asked, so... I don't personally like these synth-heavy scores (Hans Zimmer, Junkie XL). I think that is what you are referring to. I can appreciate the work that goes into them, but I don't aesthetically enjoy them. I would never say those guys don't know what they're doing, and besides, who the hell am I? It's impressive, so much detail goes into it, their Cubase templates are insane, but it's not something I want to hear. To me the timbre is anxiety-provoking, and I just can't sit through it. I saw Blade Runner 2049 in the theater and it was painfully loud, I had to plug my ears through a lot of it. I can't watch a movie and enjoy it when there is that much stressful synthesized / distorted / echoing sound blasting in my ears. That's just my own tastes in that situation. There's a place for extremely jarring music, and of course I love music that is all over the place and crazy. But I just can't get into that when it's in Blade Runner 2049. Doesn't feel like the appropriate choice to me. I hope I don't sound like I think I'm an expert. It's just my own taste, and what can I do about that?


KillDozer: Where can we go to follow your work? Are you on social media?

Carl: I am staying off social media as much as possible, but the one place I am posting candid "behind the scenes" stuff is Patreon. I'm not updating it as much as I should, but I'm posting demos and random things in there for subscribers only.


KillDozer: Okay, now for some quick fun questions. Best non horror, sci-fi, fantasy score?

Carl: The first thing that comes to mind is the Fargo TV show, as I mentioned before. Jeff Russo and Noah Hawley. What they did together is so creative and unusual and fun. And it fit my tastes.


KillDozer: Favorite silent film?

Carl: Man, I don't know anything about silent films. Sorry I can't answer this one any better.


KillDozer: What is the worst thing you have ever been asked to write for?

Carl: Wow, I have an answer for this, I think. Back in maybe 1995 (I was like 20), I was hired by my local high school's "therapist" -- he was sort of a guidance counselor / shrink that was on-staff. He was this freaking giant, intimidating, loud guy. And it turned out he had some problems of his own. He had somehow conned this literacy organization into letting him record a theme song for them. So he wrote these lyrics and hired me and a friend to perform it in a studio. It was so terrible and uncomfortable, for me to have to try to sing these cheesy lyrics about reading and writing. "Write it now, you know that you can do it!" I don't remember what ever happened with that project, but this is where the story got interesting. During the sessions he started telling me about how he wanted to take kids and punch them in the chests so hard that he could rip their hearts out. And if I recall he was wearing some kind of Native American jewelry in the studio (I don't *think* he was Native American). He was kind of starting to crack, and it was scary being in the room with him. I don't remember how long after, but he was arrested for beating up some kids at the school. He rode around on a golf cart in full-on Native American costume, feathered headdress and cowhide vest / no shirt and everything, and told people he was a famous philosopher or something. He'd accuse kids: "why are you looking at my crotch, are you gay?" and go chasing them around, roughing them up. When they arrested him he tried to explain it was just a teaching method. I think it was revealed he had been fired from a few different schools for doing this, and no one ever bothered to check his background. Such a crazy thing. I don't know what ever happened to that guy, and I only saw him one other time. A few years later I was at a Dave Weckl drum clinic. And that violent guidance counselor shows up. He starts screaming at me. "Carl King, you little mother fucker! You little piece of shit, asshole!" So random. I was glad to make it out of there.


KillDozer: We have seen a lot of re makes lately. What film would you like to re-score ?

Carl: What a question! So many films have such bland, stock scores. I don't think it's the fault of the composers, I just think that's probably the way the industry is structured. I'm trying to think of a movie that had a really disappointing score for me, and maybe that would be Bladerunner 2049. It's one of the only times I can think of where I thought, man, why did it have to be like that? But I see so many movies where I don't even remember any music at all when I leave the theater. I would actually love to score Adult Swim-style stuff. I also loved the editing on The Big Short. I think I could work well in that style, with whoever was responsible for it being so all-over-the-place.

Visit CarlKingdom.com for more info on Carl's music and video work, and to keep up with new projects he's working on! You can also subscribe to his Patreon HERE.

-KillDozer

The Overlook Theatre Reviews: Are We Not Cats

 7 of 7 viewers "Liked" "Are We Not Cats" (2018, USA)

Creature reviews have been minimally altered in an attempt to maintain their voice:

Randy the Reverberator - "Xander Robin's Are We Not Cats is the dirty punk rock road movie turned gross-out body horror film, wrapped up in a heartfelt indie relationship movie of the year. The joke in that assessment is that it's so specific that we won't see anything else like it this year, and this is part of its charm. Xander Robin has also established a wonderful cast and crew, filled by our protagonist Eli played by Michael Patrick Nicholson and his love interest Anya, played by Chelsea Lopez. Striking cinematography finds beauty and helps contrast the grosser elements which appear towards the latter half of the film. The other characters in the film have such little screen time (including Eli's parents in a comedic scene that propels him to live in a box truck and to take a trip and eventually a job in upstate New York), but Eli's world-weariness draws our attention...and we really want him to get out of the automobile he calls home. In addition to gaining employment at a lumberyard, Eli meets a multi-color haired girl that has a self-destructive appetite that brings us closer to the film's title. Are We Not Cats is a character driven, questionable relationship movie akin to something like Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch Drunk Love, or even Phantom Thread. Although Xander Robin (his feature film debut) doesn't have quite the prowess of a PTA, there's a lot of promise in this film and he's established a unique voice that I'm looking forward to seeing more of." - 4 Stars

Dabbles - "We watch a lot of weird things, and this is definitely up there. The soundtrack is awesome but also an interesting soundscape. I was on the edge of my seat." - 3 Stars

Wandering Panda - "Genuinely heartfelt and beautifully artsy in a weird way. I like this movie for its main lead, he's very relatable and easy to empathize with. The film is visually striking and thought provoking. It's a movie that is easier to watch than explain." - 3 Stars

Huntress - "Ambiguously titled movies come with a certain level of risk - is the title weird in order to make up for a boring story or does the label fit the content? In the case of Are We Not Cats, it's pretty safe to say that the first option is out. This film starts off with its lead nearing rock bottom, a point that he grazes fairly early on in the scheme of things. That is until he happens to meet someone who fills him with an entirely new motivation. From there, it's a snow and substance covered blur, but somehow remains very personal to the writer/director. And if you think that a film like that is going to end quietly, you're in for one hell of an isolated, neon lit surprise." - 4 Stars

Harvey Spectre - "A vivid body fantasia set in a world of decay." - 3 Stars

Eddie the Gamer Ghoul - "HAIR.... Alls I gots fer it is hair. Heh, da movie starts off kinda slow an' basic an' den jumps about from somtin like a crime movie to a road trip thing. By da time ya figure it out yer not sure if its'a body horror like me or if its'a psychotic break. I say dis cause most da NPC's seem ta have split personalities. When it comes down to it I give dis movie." - 3 Stars

Lord Battle - "If urban fantasy films had their own genre award show Xander Robin's Are We Not Cats would win the Interior Surrealism award and not just because there's a druidic basement nightclub! For his first time feature, Xander has managed to handle an unreliable narrator in a way that makes you simultaneously distrust him and suspect everyone he interacts with is out to get over on him. It makes for a particularly pleasant palate of paranoia." - 4 Stars

The Overlook Theatre Final Rating*

(Below is for after you've seen the film)

Every Thursday before the Overlook's ritualistic screenings, it's commonplace for several fiends to inquire about the films we'll be watching. This used to drive me mad, as I never knew what we would watch ahead of time since I'd normally just "wing it" as the horrors crawled in. or grab a few films laying around and force everyone to vote. Currently, the only preselecting I do is based on who's booked for the next Overlook Hour Podcast. That works out really well since most of the filmmakers we speak to have never heard the perspective of a residential viewing party (albeit unholy), which is kinda what the Overlook Theatre provides when you boil it down... Anyway, I digress. The problem with being asked the simple question of "what is Are We Not Cats about?" is that the subtext is both surface level and very deep. In other words Are We Not Cats is the perfect film to confuse a casual audience (which would explain all the 3's), which in turn can be an awesome post-screening opportunity.




The Overlook Hour was lucky to have Writer/Director Xander Robin on the show, I highly suggest checking that interview out AFTER you've seen the film. We venture into spoiler territory.

- Lord Battle

The Overlook Theatre materialized in a residence for a screening on 2/15/2018
*Based on the star ratings turned in by character reviewers, others viewed and got to "Dislike" or "Like" but that does not affect the rating.

Bluray Tuesday: Featuring My Friend Dahmer, Deep Red & Molly's Game

April 10th 2018

Bluray Tuesday is back once again! With a bigger release week than last time too. First up, coming from Arrow Video, is Deep Red with a new scan and features. My Friend Dahmer hits shelves today from Filmrise. I haven't heard much about this one but one I'm looking forward to watching this week. The second one I've been interested in based on the cast alone is thriller Molly's Game and I have heard nothing but good things. Scream Factory this week releases Full Moon High for the first time on Bluray. Also released for the first time on Bluray is The Psychopath from Kino Lorber. The 32nd DC animated film Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is next up and has a few retailer exclusives. Best Buy's release comes with graphic novel and Target has the steelbook packaging. Rounding out the week is The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman, Braven starring Jason Momoa and Proud Mary starring Taraji P. Henson. So what will you buy, rent and skip this week? Let us know in the comments. Until next week!

My Friend Dahmer: Amazon - $19.99

The true, haunting story of young Jeffrey Dahmer -- the shy adolescent in high school who becomes a notorious serial killer years later.

 

Deep Red (1975): Amazon - $49.99

A psychic medium (Macha Méril) is brutally murdered, and musician Marcus Daly (David Hemmings) feels a need to solve the case, since he was the one who discovered the body. Working with him is reporter Gianna Brezzi (Daria Nicolodi), who hopes for a big scoop by solving the case. When one of Marcus's own friends ends up murdered at the hands of the same killer, the resourceful pair realize they must work fast to uncover the murderer's identity or they might serve as the maniac's next victims.

 

Molly's Game: Amazon - $19.99

Molly Bloom, a young skier and former Olympic hopeful becomes a successful entrepreneur (and a target of an FBI investigation) when she establishes a high-stakes, international poker game.

 

The Greatest Showman: Amazon - $19.99

4K: Amazon - $24.99

Inspired by the imagination of P. T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business & tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

 

 

Steelbook: Best Buy - $24.99

 

Digibook: Target - $19.99

 

All the Money in the World: Amazon - $19.99

A left-wing paramilitary organization in Italy hatches a massive kidnapping plot in the 1970's.

 

Phantom Thread: Amazon - $19.99

Set in the glamour of 1950’s post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock and his sister Cyril are at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock’s life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love.

 

Full Moon High: Amazon - $22.99

A teenager (Adam Arkin) becomes a werewolf after a family vacation in Transylvania.
 

 

The Psychopath (1966): Amazon - 19.99

Four men who were involved in the investigation of a German millionaire at the end of the Second World War are found murdered with tiny dolls left next to their corpses.

 

Proud Mary: Amazon - $19.99 

Taraji P. Henson is Mary, a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad.

 

Mohawk: Amazon - $21.99

Late in the War of 1812, a young Mohawk woman and her two lovers battle a squad of American soldiers hell-bent on revenge.

 

Braven: Amazon - $12.99

A logger defends his family from a group of dangerous drug runners.
 

  

Disembodied: Amazon - $29.99

The story of Connie Sproutz, a likeable young woman with the sad problem of a spore-generating deformity on her face which causes difficulties in her day-to-day life such as dissolving into a gelatinous mass anyone who is to be devoured by the neural parasite that inhabits her skull, which is empty due to the fact that she stores her brain in a jar beside her bed.

 

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay: Amazon - $16.99

4K: Amazon - $24.99

The Suicide Squad tries to find a powerful mystical object. Task Force X, consisting of Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Killer Frost, Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang and Copperhead, race and battle other villains for the object.
 

 

 

Steelbook: Target - $19.99

 

Graphic Novel: Best Buy - $24.99

 

 -The Impostor