Harefooted Halloween: Bride of Chucky

What I Liked: Chucky’s stitched together face, stapled on hair, ragged overalls and bloodshot eyes look great.  Frankenstein is used as a loose theme for the movie including giving the doll a quasi undead monster overlay.  Now I’ve never found Chucky threatening solely by his appearance when he’s brand new out of the box.  It’s when he gets a knife hand or half his face sliced off that he takes on a frightening appearance.  So I dig that in this one he’s fucked up from the top.  This is his most gnarly design yet.

Some cool imagery sprinkled throughout.  There’s a scene where Chucky transfers his old girlfriend’s soul into a doll and the room is filled with bubbles and strobing lights because she’s killed while taking a bath.  Someone gets a bunch of nails blasted into their face.  Shards of glass fall on a couple in a waterbed and there’s an explosion of bloody water and sparking lights.

The dolls are kept totally practical without the aid of CGI.  This was a bad era for CGI and some is employed in other areas of the film but thankfully they remained committed to keeping our main characters animatronics, puppets, little people in costumes, etc.

What I Didn’t Like: Gotta be honest here, I’m not really into the concept of this installment.  By film four I understand the desire to change shit up but going in a decidedly comedic direction with Chucky having a lot more screen time doesn’t work all that well.  If you step back for a moment the idea presented actually makes more sense than at first glance.  Throwing another possessed doll into the mix is a device you sometimes see in sequels where you add more of the creature from the previous film (Aliens, Predators, Terminator 2).  The new doll is inhabited by Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly (Let It Ride)) who is Charles Lee Ray’s girlfriend from ten years prior so that checks out in terms of her being a potential bride.  They then team up to transfer their souls to human bodies and cause a lot of destruction along the way.  The thing is one doll is fine but two just comes across too silly.  The tone instantly becomes lighter due to their cutesy relationship, whether it’s playful bickering or genuine affection (and yes, the doll sex scene is as awkward as you’ve heard).  When the focus turns to Chucky and his new partner in crime the menace is diminished in this case and not multiplied.  The two are inseparable for the entire duration and so there isn’t the creepy notion of a killer lurking around the corner, hiding under the bed or any other small space.  The camera is always on them.

Having Tiffany be the same type of doll as Chucky was a missed opportunity.  It would’ve been visually cooler if Tiffany was unique and not simply a girl version of a Good Guy.  They could’ve had fun with her features and dimensions by playing off Chucky’s.  Maybe she’s taller or shorter, made of different materials, has an unusual shape to her head or whatever.  Perhaps the filmmakers didn’t go this route because they feared the audience wouldn’t be ready for a mixed doll couple.

Unfortunately there are a lot of dated references.  The term “the 90’s” is said numerous times plus the Rob Zombie opening credits song, an obvious Marilyn Manson rip off looking dude who becomes a victim, mentions of Boogie Nights, Jerry Springer, Christian Slater and there’s a running joke about Martha Stewart.

Our main human characters are a pair played by Katherine Heigl (Under Siege 2: Dark Territory) and Nick Stabile (The Beach Boys: An American Family) and they’re bland as shit.  They’re there to transport Chucky and Tiffany to New Jersey (where Charles Lee Ray is buried (he was killed in Chicago though, sorta confusing)) and to be vessels for a soul transfer.  There’s nothing interesting or compelling about these two.  They keep thinking each other is responsible for the string of grisly murders that follow them everywhere and the misunderstanding goes on for a little too long.

For some reason Chucky and Tiffany’s movements are stiffer and not as convincing as the previous two films.  Kevin Yagher returned to do the effects so I don’t know if it was lack of resources because they have two dolls to work now (it takes at least seven people to operate each animatronic) or time constraints or what.

Overall Impressions: I respect director Ronny Yu.  Legacy of Rage and Freddy vs. Jason are fucking awesome (I know, I know I need to see The Bride with White Hair and Fearless).  And he does as good of a job here as you can expect.  Broadly speaking it’s a well made movie and as I said earlier the script isn’t far fetched.  They just opted for a tongue in cheek attitude.  It’s not that terrible of a picture really.  However, while I’m all for trying out new ideas this core concept isn’t that exciting to me.  I much prefer Chucky solo with a less goofy tone.

Harefooted Halloween: Child's Play 3

What I Liked: The opening credits show a new Good Guy doll forming by reversing footage of the doll’s head melting.  A neat idea that’s made even cooler by flipping the image upside down so the goopy plastic interspersed with blood streaks looks like it’s dripping upwards.

Most of the film takes place at a military academy but the finale goes down at a nearby carnival.  The bulk of the action takes place in a haunted house/indoor roller coaster and man, it makes for a visually awesome set piece.  Admittedly this change of location kinda comes out of nowhere but they make good use of the gimmick.  The coaster cars whizzing by are constant threats, other props including a gigantic grim reaper statue are menacing, there are different elevations used like a mountain of fake skulls and etc.  This ending is colorful, fast paced and kinetic.  It casts such a striking difference compared to the dull and somewhat lifeless military school.

This is a silly item but Andrew Robinson (Cobra, Dirty Harry, Hellraiser) as the whacked out barber obsessed with all the cadets’ hair is very entertaining.  He gets so much damn joy out of his job I can’t help but be impressed with his dedication.  Make no mistake though, he’s a miserable fuck who relishes making others squirm in his chair.  In fact this guy is so into this shit that when he finds Chucky hidden in his cabinet (no clue why or how he got there by the way) he decides to give the goddamn doll a trim!  He just wants to cut hair, real or fake, human or dummy, he doesn’t care.

When Andy sees the head of the school carrying a Good Guy doll across the campus it’s a huge moment because for the past eight years he thought he was rid of Chucky.  Can you imagine?  Andy, now a sixteen year old (Justin Whalin (Serial Mom)), who’s been through some horrific shit directly linked to the doll can’t escape this fucking toy.  No matter what he does or where he goes Chucky finds him.  He has an absolutely terrified look of disbelief on his face.  It’s shot in glorious slow motion as well to give that scene the weight it deserves.

What I Didn’t Like: I know it’s stupid to complain about how they bring Chucky back but the toy factory fucks up yet again and reuses the remains of the destroyed doll from the previous film to make an all new one.  Now it was an accident this time with a few drops of blood getting mixed into the fresh liquid plastic but c’mon guys, you gotta implement better practices.  You’re like fifty percent responsible for the deaths and trauma in at least parts 2 and 3.  Arguably all installments aside from the first.

Something about the military academy setting is rather drab.  This is just a personal preference thing but films like this, Damien: The Omen II and The Substitute: Failure is Not an Option that involve kids running through drills and dealing with strict disciplinarian sergeants (as opposed to a regular high school situation) isn’t all that interesting to me.

Unfortunately we get basically the same plot as part 2 except Chucky sorta switches targets by going after a young cadet named Tyler (Jeremy Silvers) to transfer his soul to.  By this point it’s comical how he keeps getting interrupted during the voodoo magic ritual.  Simultaneously he also goes after Andy simply for revenge.  Kinda dumb since he can enact that at any time.  He should be laser focused on moving his soul out.  Once that’s done he can do whatever he wants.

Speaking of focus Chucky kills some people just for the hell of it.  Again, he doesn’t have time for this.  His soul is gonna get trapped in the doll if he dawdles.  I get it, we’re in a slasher so we need a decent body count but it would’ve been nice for the filmmakers to come up with motives behind some of the deaths.  He’s not Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees that more or less kill randomly.  Chucky doesn’t have much room for error.

Overall Impressions: While not as well constructed as part 2 it’s still a fun time.  As a sort of bridge they manage to incorporate Chucky murdering someone using toys at the top but then after that he uses whatever he finds around the academy like knives and grenades.  Chucky is still Chucky here though and that’s key.  He spits his one liners, insults everyone, gets a kick out of gruesomely dispatching his victims, sneaks his way out of most situations by going limp into inanimate doll mode and etc.

On a technical level the Chucky effects keep improving.  By this time the filmmakers had a complete handle on how to shoot him and incorporate him into scenes.  His movements are still a bit jerky due to the animatronics and puppetry involved but that’s simply become a character trait.  The scaling always feels right, like if he needs to emerge from a doorway or lunge towards someone it’s now all done pretty seamlessly.

I like this one.  It’s not incredible or anything but solid.

Harefooted Halloween: Child's Play 2

What I Liked: Even though Chucky was essentially the fully formed character we’ve come to adore over the years in that first film it’s part 2 where he really comes into his own with the insults and twisted sense of humor.  With all the maniacal laughing he does during murdering he more or less has turned into the Joker.  Charles Lee Ray didn’t expect to come back to life let alone resurrect as a two foot doll yet again so all he can do is cackle at the absurdity.

They lean heavily into the toy angle which is a natural.  Chucky uses jump ropes to tie up his victims, a little plastic shovel to bury another Good Guy doll, the finale takes place in the factory where they make the dolls and etc.  Thankfully they don’t go overboard with it.  They throw in enough to highlight the theme of a killer doll without winking at the camera.

While the first movie played with more of the creepy doll idea, where he might suddenly appear on the couch when you’re sure he wasn’t there before, this time they went full blown slasher.  Chucky stalks his victims and when he pounces he attacks more ferociously and openly.  He only has a small window of time to transfer his soul to Andy (played by a returning Alex Vincent) so the urgency he exhibits makes sense.

Andy becomes an orphan because his mother got locked away in a mental institution between movies.  No one believes a doll came to life and wreaked havoc so the mother is deemed unfit to take care of a child.  It’s a harsh dose of reality for a film a bit lighter in tone than the previous one.  Andy’s foster parents are also looking after a teenager named Kyle (Christine Elise (Beverly Hills 902108)) and I like the relationship she and Andy form.  Kyle’s been kicking around in the system for a long time and decides to take Andy under her wing.  They have heart to heart talks that they can’t have with anyone else and they lean on each other more as the story progresses.  Kyle is painted as rebellious with her cigarette smoking and sneaking out at night to see friends but really she’s a kind person who doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Andy.  It’s nice to see these two team up to battle Chucky.  Andy still isn’t old enough or big enough to fight him head on so introducing a new teenaged character who’s closer to his age, as opposed to another adult like his mother, is a smart move.

Instead of relying on as large of an array of techniques to bring Chucky to life like the prior installment special effects master Kevin Yagher (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, 3, 4) and his team seemed to iron out the animatronic and puppetry movements.  This allows Chucky to be filmed closer to how you would with any other actor.  Although certain tricks still had to be used like dropping the camera speed to help sync up his mouth movements.  In turn he feels more lifelike to a greater degree than before.  I thought way less about the different setups and effects employed because Chucky just...is…here.

*Spoiler for this paragraph* I really like that towards the end Chucky fully completes the ritual that should transfer his soul into Andy’s body.  It only fails because too much time has passed and now he’s stuck in the doll.  Clever.

What I Didn’t Like: You have to accept a certain amount of bullshit with these movies like that the toy company that makes the Good Guy dolls would obtain and fully restore the burnt to shit doll from the previous picture including reusing the one eyeball that was undamaged.  The eye is placed in a new doll and that’s what brings Chucky back to life.  I guess that’s fine but it’s still kinda dumb.  Look, I don’t know how else you bring him back though.  We’re dealing with supernatural shit as it is so having Chucky’s eyeball be sufficient to bring him back is something you simply have to roll with.

Overall Impressions: This is mostly the same as part 1 but amped up in typical sequel fashion.  More kills, more blood, more Chucky.  Andy’s psyche isn’t delved into that much but he appears fairly well adjusted considering how much trauma he went through.  The mythology and universe are expanded upon slightly with the Play Pals toy company playing a major role and how Chucky can be brought back to life.  All splendid stuff.

And of course setting the finale in the Good Guy factory is genius.  Andy and Kyle are trying to escape Chucky and then find themselves surrounded by a maze of dolls, imaginative machinery like something out of Barry Levinson’s Toys (which came out two years after this) and a colorful paint scheme that somehow makes the place more unsettling and not less.  The dangerous equipment and chemicals are all utilized to wonderful effect with Chucky being put through the goddamn wringer.  He gets seriously fucked up here and it’s exquisite.

For me Child’s Play 2 falls into the same category as Aliens (among others) of being not as good as the original but I’d rather watch this one most times.  The combination of a brasher Chucky, incorporating other toys into the plot and Andy not being afraid to fight back makes for a worthy follow up and really fun watch.

Harefooted Halloween: Child's Play

What I Liked: Fantastic simple premise that’s executed wonderfully, a killer doll is on the loose.  While straight forward on paper it’s the details that make or break a picture like this.  The look of the doll can’t be too twisted or innocent, its movements need to be convincing, the actors’ interactions with the doll need to be plausible, the spooky shit the doll does needs to make sense with the story and etc.  Sure, every film is a tightrope but this type in particular can come off extremely silly and nonthreatening if not handled right.

Alex Vincent as Andy and Catherine Hicks (Peggy Sue Got Married) as his mother, Karen, give nice natural performances.  It’s a risk to have a seven year old carry a movie but Vincent pulls it off.  The filmmakers managed to find someone who’s not annoying or awkward.  And the relationship he has with his mother is touching and very believable.  At first Karen thinks Andy is making shit up about his doll but then realizes he’s telling the truth and does everything in her power to protect her son.  They land in a crazy situation and go from worried to confused to terrified in a relatively short period.

And of course Brad Dourif (Halloween (2007)) is perfect as the voice of Chucky.  He’s one of the all time great character actors and delivers one helluva performance.  This is the character he’s undoubtedly best known for and for good reason.  He exudes such rage in his voice over resorting to hiding his soul in a doll and then having to chase down Andy to take over his body next.  He’s also manipulative and cunning making him very dangerous.

They used a ton of tricks to make Chucky come alive.  The fear is the actors will look like idiots wrestling with a lifeless puppet Hobgoblins style.  But through the use of closeups, POV shots, animatronics, a little person dressed in a Chucky costume and yes, puppets, they breathe life into the plastic vessel.  It’s actually very compelling which is kind of the crux of the whole movie.  If that doesn’t work then you’re screwed.  And it definitely works here.

Coming in just under ninety mins the pacing is damn good.  Thankfully the film doesn’t waste your time with scenes that don’t move the plot forward.  It’s all economically told and shit escalates quickly so there’s good tension building.

The sparse soundtrack from Joe Renzetti (Poltergeist III) adds magnificent atmosphere.  Some reverbed harpsichord swipes succeed in creating a brilliant sense of anxiety.

What I Didn’t Like: The rule they setup is serial killer Charles Lee Ray can only transfer his soul out of the doll into the first person he reveals his true identity to.  That’s why he goes after Andy.  And honestly it’s a weird flimsy Gremlins-like rule (that only gets murkier with the sequels).  What if he told a room full of people he was the Lakeshore Strangler or wrote someone a note or started to tell someone but got interrupted or any number of other scenarios?  Look, the rest of the movie is well done so this doesn’t really bother me.  I mean you sorta need this rule to prevent Chucky from constantly hopping from body to body.  Then your possessed doll concept goes out the window.  Keeping Chucky trapped in a toy and focused on a specific target is necessary even though they didn’t come up with a great explanation as to why.

This is a minor one but the brand name of the doll is Good Guy.  Get it?  ‘Cause this particular one ain’t a good guy.  Matter of fact he’s a pretty bad guy.  Too on the nose.

Overall Impressions: It had been a long time since I saw this and damn it’s a fair amount better than I remember.  It’s just so perfectly tightly told.  This first outing is a little more serious than the rest of the series but that’s not a bad thing at all.  I like that while Chucky is less Jokey here than he would be in later films he still comes out of the gate as the scurrilous scamp we all love.

What I’m most impressed with is how incredibly smart the filmmakers were with shot choices, tone, the effects, the performances and what they felt they needed to explain to get the concept off the ground.  For example the wide shots or quick shots of someone in a Chucky outfit running around or getting up from the floor are amazingly convincing.  For my money these are the creepiest moments in the entire series because he moves like a real person and not a somewhat stiff animatronic.

I respect how the material is approached.  The story could’ve been told in a different way where the audience is kept in the dark for most of the film about an infamous murderer’s soul inhabiting a doll and we’re trying to determine if Andy is a mentally insane killer or not.  Apparently an earlier version of the script went down this road.  However, I think knowing from the start what the deal is with the doll works better.  Keeping it vague with the possibility of Andy being a killer would’ve led to a bonkers twist that probably would’ve been too much to ask of the viewer.  Would’ve made the part where Karen discovers the doll’s been functioning without batteries a truly holy shit moment instead of “well yeah, we already know he’s alive”.  Ah, who am I kidding?  That scene’s still cool as hell regardless.

Everything came together for this one.  They managed to turn a very Twilight Zone-ish idea into an effectively eerie feature.  They don’t overdo it with the doll moving around in the background or showing up suddenly in a chair when you know he wasn’t there before or shit like that.  There are only a couple of those moments because they push the piece along and ratchet up the situation efficiently.  I can’t praise enough how clever the filmmakers were in every area of production.  And as I mentioned earlier this is a tough assignment.  From having a little kid be the main star to the magic trick of making Chucky feel like a living evil doll.  They traversed a minefield to knock it out of the park.  If you haven’t seen the one that started it all you definitely should.  Without hesitation I can say it’s a goddamn classic.

RoboCop 3

Don’t pay attention to those jokers out there, RoboCop 3 isn’t nearly as terrible as its reputation.  Although I don’t think I’d go as far as to call it good exactly.  Look, the first RoboCop is an undisputed masterpiece.  No one’s gonna argue with that.  The second film gets a bunch of flack but is generally liked for exploring the humanity vs machine angle and keeping up the spirit of its predecessor.  It’s goofier (all the delinquent kid enemies, Robo programmed against his will to be comically genial and less violent, the dotted eyeballs and brain floating in a test tube that represent what’s left of the main villain before he’s turned into the next gen man-machine police officer, etc.) and at the same time nastier (killing someone by slicing their chest open with a scalpel, showing the removal of the top of someone’s skull during surgery, etc.).  For part 3 though the powers that be went for a middle of the road strategy.  They had a cartoon series, action figures, an upcoming live action TV show and stacks of other shit aimed at making this creation and universe more appealing to a wider audience.  I genuinely believe they could’ve come up with something decent that would’ve fit within this new framework.  This is one of the most compelling characters ever conceived after all.  Instead what we got was a sorta blah film.

One of the biggest issues is that it doesn’t delve into any new territory.  Once again Robo/Murphy grapples with balancing his previous life and memories as a bona fide human being with being a corporate tool that must obey whatever’s been programmed in his CPU.  But ok, in all fairness they do introduce two new ideas and both deal with RoboCop accessories.  He can now detach one of his arms and lock on a machine gun/mini rocket launcher/flame thrower combo.  Kinda neat actually.  He gets to use it a few times throughout the movie justifying its existence.  The other is a strap on jetpack so he can fly.  The thing is he’s already so powerful though being able to withstand most gunfire, small explosions and high falls.  Plus the new arm cannon is a weapons upgrade so also giving him the ability to fly is a touch too far in my opinion.  However, I’ll give credit to the filmmakers for incorporating its use well enough towards the end of the film that it feels natural and not the crutch it could’ve been to get RoboCop out of every sticky situation.

The flying special effects on the other hand, eeh not so hot.  Interestingly the effects overall are arguably the best in the series with spectacular car crashes, smoother stop motion on ED-209, Robo’s face with his helmet off where it’s stretched over his mechanical cranium looks as seamless as ever, there are these samurai sword wielding androids and their jaws and faces get knocked out of place and it looks fantastic and etc.  Just Robo flying around where they use a mixture of models, green screen and wire work is ragged as hell.  Oh well.

Another considerable complaint folks have (the most egregious it seems) is the reduced carnage and PG-13 rating.  A hallmark of the series is ultra-violence and lewd characters.  And while this installment is certainly more violent than most remember (the body count is less than the other two pictures but still racks up an astonishing 78 according to the wiki fan page) the thing that can’t be missed is the lack of blood and brutality in general.  Almost every death is by gun and all we see is the clothing flare up where the bullets enter the body (with a couple of exceptions).  This was sufficient for some to write off the film entirely which I think is a shame.  Honestly I’m fine with this easing up as long as the story and characters are well done.

Story-wise it ain’t there though.  As mentioned above it’s way too similar to part 2 involving Robo wrestling with his human emotions and programmed orders, fighting with his corporate maker/overlord OCP and eventually going up against a seemingly more powerful battle droid.  He does join an underground resistance who use guerilla tactics to try to stop OCP from bulldozing their neighborhood so they can build a city of the future in its place.  I mean sure, why not?  He regains a little more of his humanity with each outing so I guess that tracks.  But aside from a lot of rehash the plot just feels kinda small for a part 3.  The stakes haven’t been risen to a proper level and Robo doesn’t get pushed to a new low where he has to fight back harder than ever to see that justice is served.  In part 2 he gets completely dismantled at one point and you wonder how the hell he’s gonna recover from that while in this one the worst that happens is his power gets drained and he needs to be recharged.

Sloppy script work and filmmaking don’t help either.  For example the main villain is confronted by RoboCop in a hotel he’s hiding out in and jumps out the window to escape.  At that moment a henchman happens to be driving by in a van loaded with weapons and gear ‘n’ shit so they can combat each other.  Or there’s this little kid in the resistance who’s a computer hacker and somehow knows where RoboCop’s tracking device is hidden on his body so OCP can’t find them immediately.  You know, stupid plot convenience stuff like that.  Or there’s a secondary villain that the movie takes the time to setup as being a big threat but then he ends up killing himself offscreen half way through.  No comeuppance or satisfaction with how the character is handled.  You know, shoddy storytelling stuff like that.  Or in one scene we see RoboCop breathing through his suit which is wrong.  I don’t believe he has any lungs.  You know, careless technical stuff like that.

I said this one isn’t truly god awful though, right?  Ok.  Peter Weller couldn’t return in the lead role cause he had other shit going on but they cast an excellent replacement in Robert John Burke (Safe, Oz).  Not only does he look like Weller but he puts on a great stoic performance and hints at the churning of feelings beneath the surface he’d liked to gain more access to but simply can’t due to his condition.  He moves in an angular fashion like a RoboCop should and delivers his lines in a mostly dry monotone with the right bit of humor when required.  The only real issue is the sound of his voice is pretty different than Weller’s.  It’s more rounded and not as throaty.  And I don’t believe it’s related to the processing they had to do in post production to layer on the metallic shimmer.  Burke’s natural voice is so dissimilar that it becomes an unfortunate constant distraction.  Weller established the timbre of RoboCop’s speech so anyone else isn’t going to sound totally right.  That aside it’s a miracle they got someone as perfect as Burke to fill the role because the filmmakers were forced to reuse the same suit from the previous films so whoever they cast had to have damn near the same exact dimensions as Weller in order to fit in it.  Even still it quickly became painful for Burke after being strapped in for a short while.

Another aspect that’s done well is the pacing.  The story never drags or becomes tedious.  There aren’t superfluous sub plots or tangents that distract from the main plot and I for one really appreciate that.

And yea, it’s shot and edited perfectly fine.  The action and everything that’s going on is completely followable.  Again, I appreciate that and wanna give the film points for things that some others might take for granted.  These baseline qualities aren’t givens for any picture.

So there it is.  The story isn’t exciting but serviceable, the characters aren’t advanced any further but they’re still the familiar ones we know and love, the effects aren’t groundbreaking but definitely well done (except the flying stuff), Burke taking over the lead does a bang up job and the violence isn’t quite as scaled back as people like to complain about (there’s actually a really horrific scene (that I think is supposed to be funny) of one OCP employee who commits suicide by jumping out of a window while on the phone with his wife and then we cut to a shot of ground level where he lands behind a barrier thankfully sparing us the awful impact).

Yes, they teamed up Robo with a little kid in a blatant move to mimic T2 (and get a younger audience on board), the arm gun and jetpack come across as a way to make the film more toyetic (similar to Batman and Robin), there isn’t a true finale, the script needed a few more rewrites, an R rating would’ve been preferred and so on.  But despite all that this still feels like the world of RoboCop.  Detroit is still an incredibly dangerous warzone, Robo still murders bad guys and OCP is still an evil organization that basically runs the city.  It’s not unrecognizable or even that drastically altered.  The pieces are all there.

And for shits let’s take this one step further.  How does this one stack up against other action franchises that went PG-13 with one of their sequels?  While not as fun as Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome or The Expendables 3 I think RoboCop 3 is better than Terminator Salvation, Terminator Genisys, Speed 2 and Conan the Destroyer (in fact rated PG).  Maybe it’s tied with Live Free or Die Hard.

White Nights

You’re telling me the world’s greatest ballet dancer (Mikhail Baryshnikov) and world’s greatest tap dancer (Gregory Hines) star together in a movie all about dancing?  And it’s also a political thriller?  Cool.  I mean kinda weird but cool.

Baryshnikov essentially plays himself as Nikolai Rodchenko, a famous ballet dancer who escaped the oppressive Soviet Union and defected to the US.  Years later he’s a thriving mega star who travels all over performing in the world’s most prestigious theaters.  On the way to his next show his plane has a malfunction and they must make an emergency landing in Siberia.  When Nikolai gets wind of this he freaks out, frantically tears up his passport and tries to flush it down the toilet.  The jumbo jet spectacularly crash lands on a remote military base where the passengers are held until they can be transported out of the country.  Unfortunately Nikolai is found out almost immediately and the KGB whisk him away.  They try to persuade him to remain in the country and dance for them again.  Of course he doesn’t exactly have a choice.  Dance or die.

Meanwhile American defector Raymond Greenwood (Hines) is eking it out in Siberia putting on a miniature production of Porgy and Bess.  He despised the way he was treated as a black man in America who showed great talent but was ignored.  He joined the military where he was ordered to carry out commands he didn’t agree with like kill people.  Through his experiences he developed an intense hatred towards the US and split.  Initially he was treated well when he arrived in the Soviet Union but once the novelty wore off and he became old news as a political football they shipped him out of Moscow to the middle of nowhere.  While this new lifestyle isn’t as wonderful as he’d hoped he seems to be ok with his decision overall.

Raymond is tapped (get it?) by the KGB to convince Nikolai that the ol’ SU ain’t so bad and he can have his old life back and shoot straight to being their top ballet dancer again.  They even bring in his former dance partner and lover Galina (Helen Mirren (Fast X)) as additional muscle to get him on board.  Nikolai isn’t buying this shit though and keeps his head low until he can figure out a way to escape to the American embassy.

So this is a terrific setup involving two characters who both see their birth country as this unforgivable monster and their adopted country as the place they truly belong.  Baryshnikov and Hines have good chemistry with a tense introductory period but eventually bond over dance.  They make impassioned cases why they decided to leave their homelands and argue with each other over how each of their societies have restricted their artistic expression.  The subject matter is heavy with the characters going through many intense emotions and these guys are up to the task.

While the thriller portion of the film is fairly by the numbers (although I have a real soft spot for this particular sub-genre, especially since they don’t make them anymore) what shines the most are the dancing scenes.  Big surprise, right?  Interestingly they keep Baryshnikov and Hines separate in their dancing until the end when they do a duet.  This is smart for several reasons.  One is that their disciplines are completely different, which Raymond points out to the KGB (who don’t care).  One comes from the ballet world, one comes from the tap world.  Nikolai and Raymond spend a lot of time together in and out of the practice room so they study each other, get to know each other, learn from each other.  Another reason is to show the metaphorical rift between the characters.  They dislike one another initially but gain respect for the other’s abilities and sympathize with their situations.  It’s beautiful.

The way they weave the dancing into the story is impressive too.  For example Nikolai has his boombox and western cassette tapes with him because they were on the plane so he uses that music to workout to.  Raymond hasn’t heard any new music, American or otherwise, in a long time so it strikes a deep chord.  When Nikolai goes out of sight to take a shower Raymond puts on a tape and improvises a huge tap routine running all around the dance studio, jumping, spinning, tapping like he’s never tapped before.  This fresh music with infectious beats and sounds unleashes a fire in him that’s been dormant.  It plants a seed in his brain that maybe Nikolai’s right.  Maybe the Soviet Union kinda sucks and he should help him get the fuck out of there.

Later Nikolai has a similar scene where he meets with his old flame Galina and she’s all excited that the government just might, perhaps, cross your fingers approve a production of a ballet that’s currently not allowed because it doesn’t conform to the state’s ideals.  She’s hoping this will be an irresistible enticement for Nikolai.  However, her plan backfires.  Nikolai sees this as sad because he’s already done that ballet in other countries who don’t have the same restrictions.  He then continues to explain that his imagination and passion to create and perform can’t be stifled.  Suddenly he bursts into a magnificent ballet routine that we assume definitely wouldn’t be allowed if he were to stay in the SU.  Galina can only cry.  Not only has she probably never seen those kinds of moves before but she knows he’s right.  His talent would be suppressed and wasted if he doesn’t leave.

And it goes without saying (but I’m gonna say it anyway, er, write it anyway) the duet is pretty magical.  These fuckers strut their shit all over the place in a side by side formation.  It looks so natural how they combine ballet and tap maneuvers into one fluid sequence.  The martial arts kicks are such an awesome and funny touch too (foreshadowed by Hines doing some flying kicks earlier in the film).  I mean these guys look like they’re having a good time pulling off moves that neither of them would ever do on their own and there doesn’t appear to be too much watering down or capitulation either.  They strike the right balance of styles.  Plus Baryshnikov and Hines look badass as hell with Baryshnikov sporting a quasi greaser look in his black pants, black boots, black jacket and white t-shirt while Hines wears relaxed slacks and a tucked in button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

One last thing I gotta mention is the dance scenes are shot superbly, especially the opening ballet number.  The camera keeps the full body in frame most of the time so we don’t miss the unbelievable foot work.  Cuts, closeups, pans and spins are all used to maximum effect.  It’s impressive how dynamic the camera work is without feeling too flashy or distracting.  I wanna say it’s a little strange that the rest of the picture doesn’t have nearly this same level of deftness but that could’ve been an intentional choice.  The plain shooting of the non-dancing stuff certainly provides a contrast.  So like the characters themselves who become alive when they begin to dance so does the camera.  I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

The title refers to the time of year near the arctic when there are days of twenty four hour sunlight.  I’m not sure what this has to do with the material though.  Maybe it’s referring to Nikolai’s situation feeling like an unending waking nightmare?  Or it’s like he’s entered a Twilight Zone-esque space where time ticks differently than the rest of the universe?  Once again, I’ll leave it up to you to interpret however you wish.

Director Taylor Hackford turned in an intriguing film that’s sorta half amazing and half just ok.  I’ve said this before that he doesn’t really have a discernible style but he tends to turn in solid films with neat premises: The Devil’s Advocate, Delores Claiborne, Ray, Blood In, Blood Out, Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll.  I need to give the guy more credit.

So ballet and tap dancing can be friends after all.  It only took being trapped together in an isolated bitter communist country with little artistic freedom, no real means of escape and the threat of prison or death if you don’t conform.  It was worth it.

The Thing from Another World

Hot take: horror had a rough go of it in the 50’s.  Actually the 40’s through the 60’s was a long slog that definitely yielded some certified masterworks but the bulk of it was pretty bad.  And in my opinion the 50’s fared the worst of the three decades.  Giant insects and space aliens that simply resembled humans except for one exaggerated body feature was a lot of what was on the menu then.  Look, I understand that’s where we were with the filmmaking and what audiences liked to see at that time.  That’s all fine.  It just doesn’t hold up that well.  And at least on the surface The Thing from Another World fits into that mold.  A creature crash lands on Earth in the form of, well, a human being with claws and a square head.  What makes this particular picture rise above its peers though is the damn good story idea and execution.

Based on the novella “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell the setup involves an isolated group of scientists and military personnel stationed at the north pole who investigate a peculiar object that dropped out of the sky near them.  Turns out to be a flying saucer.  They accidentally blow up the ship when they attempt to recover it using thermite (oops!) but take the consolation prize of an otherworldly beast encased in ice back to their base.  They want to keep the thing frozen until the higher ups arrive and decide what to do with it.  Another accident occurs when one of the guys guarding the ice block unknowingly places an electric blanket on top thawing it enough to let the organism out.  It’s hostile and ping pongs between attacking everyone and hiding out in and around the encampment.

What I really dig about the film is the mystery, suspense and intrigue.  There’s good build up with learning that there’s something foreign in the ice, the holy shit discovery that it’s an alien, the panic of it now being on the loose, not knowing what it is or how to deal with it, figuring out what it wants, how to defeat it, etc.  It could be lurking around any corner and attack without notice.  And it’s made up of plant-like material.  Each piece of itself can function independently of the main body and it can regenerate if given enough time.  This is completely different from anything we’ve seen on our own planet and it’s scary.

Part of what makes this villain so creepy is that whenever it does show up it comes in fast and hard.  These quick bursts of action only last a couple of moments but they’re intense because they rev up the scene from 0 to 100 in a snap.  Of course the standout attack is when the alien busts through a door out of nowhere and our protagonists act immediately to set the thing on fire.  It’s an iconic visual and well deserved because fuck me did it look dangerous as all hell to perform.  I mean the actors are throwing buckets of flammable material onto a stunt guy in a suit who’s already on fire creating massive bursts of flames on top of flames.  The surrounding set and props all catch fire as well.

It can’t be overstated how influential The Thing from Another World was.  It frightened the pants off and inspired a whole generation of filmmakers.  You can see its legacy in Alien, Aliens (the alien motion tracker is very reminiscent of the Geiger counter here that shows how close the creature is), slashers in general (I wouldn’t classify this as a slasher exactly but it certainly has elements of one) and of course, John Carpenter’s impeccable remake.

Interestingly one of the other few good horror features from the 50’s, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, also involves a plant based life form infecting Earth.  They replace humans with their own homegrown pod beings so you don’t know who’s an alien and who isn’t.  This is similar to “Who Goes There?” and Carpenter’s version of The Thing where the alien can precisely replicate any entity it comes in contact with.  Just wanted to point that out.

Boy did it take me a long time to finally get to this one and it’s a fun time overall.  However, I’m not saying it’s a totally incredible movie.  It’s extremely dialogue heavy, has smarmy characters and the creature design is more or less a lazy Frankenstein knock off instead of the shape shifter from the book.  But that was the style of the time and as long as you understand that going in you’ll be ok.  For any big horror fan it’s required reading because its influence looms large to this day.  You can trace a bunch of your favorite films and tropes back to this guy.