Reviews: Encounters at the End of the World

Encounters at the End of the World - (2007) Directed by Werner Herzog

I sat down to watch this film on a cold January night with a slice of vegan chocolate cake and Brian by my side, ready to be educated about Antarctica. I knew Herzog’s film would be visually stunning thanks to cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger, a man with whom he has worked on many projects. I also knew it would be different – no voices droning over boring facts and drab images like all those documentaries I watched in school, nothing cutesy, no pushing of agendas – just a film documenting a place and some people as they are, because that is Herzog’s way. What I didn’t expect was for it to be funny. At times Herzog’s questions were whimsical, at times ridiculous, and at times serious. However, regardless of form – each and every question made me think. When he takes you on a journey he somehow manages to make each and every stop fascinating and when it’s all over he leaves you wanting more. His film awakened a hunger for knowledge in me and a bit of sadness at the loss of uncharted territories regardless of how fascinating they might be.

-LQ

Favorite Horror Film: Prince of Darkness

By Brian Peterson, IMUR co-editor

Prince of Darkness (directed by John Carpenter)

Most people probably wouldn’t list Prince of Darkness among their favorite horror films. Many probably haven’t even seen it. It’s not my favorite horror film by any means, and it’s not even my favorite John Carpenter film. Yet there is something about it that is interesting, fun, and utterly compelling. I’ve never seen another film of any kind attempt to combine quantum physics, religion, ethics, and philosophy all under the guise of a frightening, if at times over the top, premise. I’ve always had an interest in the supernatural, as well as in the history of religion, and the way Carpenter tells this story is intriguing. Imagine a dark secret kept hidden by the Catholic Church for centuries. There is a secret vat of green liquid in the basement of a church that only a few select “guardians” know about. A priest (played by the amazing Donald Pleasance) discovers the secret and based on his studies (and the strange things he observes around him) deduces that the liquid is somehow impacting the outside world. The priest calls in a team of quantum physics, math, and philosophy students to examine the liquid from a “rational” perspective. Essentially, the priest wants the world to understand that what lurks in this hidden container is gaining power and is, in fact, evil. I won’t get more into the plot as it doesn’t really make a lot of sense if you haven’t seen the film (in fact, it probably sounds somewhat absurd based on my feeble description). But what transpires is full of suspense, gore, subtle and at times unintentional humor (depending on your sense of humor), mystery, conspiracy, and creepiness. Yeah, there are a few cheesy eighties one-liners here and there, but the cheese all comes together with the serious parts, making for quite the viewing experience. If you’ve never seen a John Carpenter film I’d recommend starting with his classics like The Thing, Halloween, Big Trouble in Little China, They Live, or Assault on Precinct 13. But once you’ve seen his best, make sure you check out Prince of Darkness. (Note: Pay attention to those eerie shots of the future that recur through the characters’ dreams throughout the film. Those shots are probably what sold me the first time.)

And that wraps up our Favorite Horror Movie series. If you’re curious as to what Brian and I watched during our annual Horror Film Fest during the month of October check out my blog

Favorite Horror Films: Halloween 3

By Michael Doherty, Librarian

I had a hard time coming up with just one horror movie to call my favorite but if I HAD to choose one it would have to be Halloween 3: Season of the Witch. Now, I only saw this movie for the first time last year but it was because of the circumstances that I love it so. Now, although not my favorite “scary” movie Halloween 3 now holds a place as one of my top favorite “horror” movies because of how stupidly campy it is. When I first saw this movie I was at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago attending the “Music Box Massacre” 24 hour horror movie marathon. If you are new to the movie Halloween 3, as I was at the time, this is the perfect place to watch it. The main premise of the movie is that the toymaker Silver Shamrock has gotten into the Halloween mask making business. Silver Shamrock also, as it turns out, is a front for evil druids that want to kill all children it seems, and they want to do this by stealing a huge piece of Stonehenge and using it as part of the masks so that they can emit a signal on television that will magically murder all the children wearing masks and turn them into bugs and snakes and other creepy crawlies. Seeing this film with a huge group of horror movie fans who enjoy more than anything the campy stupidity really puts this film over the top. Halloween 3 was made for heckling! From the druids to the creepy, stupid, clockwork robot henchmen to the painful lines delivered by the main characters – “I do love a good joke and this is the best ever: a joke on the children” – to even poking fun at the drinking problem of one of the main characters – “It’s getting late. I could use a drink.” or “Drinking and doctoring. Great combination.” This movie has everything that makes it “so bad it’s good.” As such, I consider Halloween 3:Season of the Witch (the ONLY Halloween movie without Michael Myers in it mind you) a great choice for those who don’t like too much gore and want a laugh with their scares, especially if they have a group to watch it with. I throw this movie on now whenever I want a good laugh with some mild scares thrown in.

Favorite Horror Films: Night of the Living Dead

By Lisa Quintero, IMUR co-editor

I watched my first horror movie at the tender age of 6, much to my mother’s dismay. My dad used to come home around 9 o’clock at night and my sister and I would always climb in bed and watch TV with him when he came home. I remember pretending to fall asleep, so my mom would forget I was there and then after a while opening my eyes and being very quiet, because I wanted to watch the movie my dad was watching. The movie in question happened to be George Romero’s 1968 masterpiece Night of the Living Dead. The film was eerie in its black and white format and for years the image of the little girl eating her parents haunted me. My mother had to sit with me for weeks until I fell asleep and put up with my incessant knocking on her door at midnight because I had had another nightmare. When I first watched the film it caught hold of me on a purely visceral level. I felt the intensity and the fear of Romero’s characters and it made my imagination run wild. I was hooked! For years I wouldn’t watch that film, based solely on my initial reaction. But, in my late teens I finally decided to revisit the film, after watching countless other horror films I figured how bad could it be? It wasn’t startling, or overly gory like the films I’d become used to, but it was still scary on a level I never could have understood as a six year old. There was a message in the film – the message that human beings take each other for granted. That we’re animalistic and savage in so many ways. That we don’t think. That we are the zombies. Since then I’ve been hooked. I’ve watched every one of Romero’s Dead movies. Each critiques society in it’s own way, some are better than others. But, Night of the Living Dead will always be my favorite in the series. I am no longer haunted by the scene with the little girl eating her parents, now it’s the final moments of the film that haunt me.