50th Anniversary Trailer Breakdown

Posted on 22/10/2013 by dalekboy

Okay, seen a couple of lists about the trailer, some have drawn some pretty long bows, some have missed elements that I spotted. So here’s my list. I’ve put up framegrabs, then highlighted and numbered most of the relevant bits. If you click on an image it will jump to a full sized version.

I haven’t always gone for the clearest shot of an object, but this already runs to 19 images and 90 entries total, so I was trying to get the most bang for my buck. With the way I’ve presented it, you should be able to figure out where it is on screen and check for yourself.

But mostly I only cover the elements that I’m fairly certain of, there’s very little supposition in my list, and I debunk (possibly incorrectly) one or two other theories. I did skip one or two shots of Daleks where I found it impossible to narrow down the type or story. I have no doubt I’ve missed a few things, but I think I’ve covered most of them fairly well.

1. The policeman seen in the very first episode, An Unearthly Child. Fred Rawlings was the first actor seen in the show.

2. This bike is potentially one of the most anal retentive bits of continuity. It appears clearly in some of the set photos for An Unearthly Child, but you can’t see it in the episode. Or maybe it’s a nod to the bike Tom Baker rides in Shada. What? You want a bike seen on screen in an episode that was broadcast? Okay, it belongs to Pigbin Josh from Claws of Axos. Happy?

Continue reading →

The Ugly

Posted on 14/10/2013 by dalekboy

The Ugly 8/10

This is the first one that I found listed that doesn’t quite work for me as a cosmic horror. There are certainly elements, and it looks like it might be going in a very creepy and odd direction, but then goes for something a little more predictable.

That said, it’s a very well done little film. It has some subtle and stylish moments, some interesting character development, and some lovely visuals. It’s not perfect. The ending doesn’t work, and the film goes for a few too many moments where we see something horrific only to have it turn out to be in a character’s imagination, which actually robs some of the other genuinely odd creepy moments of their oomph.

But I’m damning with faint praise. It’s certainly clever, disturbing, and good enough that I’m interested in checking out the director’s other work, and I’ll certainly be watching it again.

For those curious, you can buy a copy here.

For links to the list of other cosmic horror films I’ve been watching, go here.

The Dalekboy welcomes you!

Featured

Posted on 13/10/2013 by dalekboy

G’day, I’m Danny Oz^[1], and I’ve been a science fiction fan since I was a small child. In fact, I’m still a small child, only I’m 46 now. I’m one of the people who started Melbourne’s annual science fiction convention, Continuum.

I’ve also received Ditmar and ASFMA awards for various things, as well as a couple of Gold Plated Caterpillars (for being a ratbag), The Silver Swan, and most recently the A. Bertram Chandler Award. It’s genuinely humbling, and confusing, that people thought I was worthy of those last two.

Below the cut is links to topics I’ve written about that you might wish to check out. I write a lot about my first love, Doctor Who, but there is other stuff as well, usually related to science fiction and horror. To see other stuff I’ve written about you can go to my infrequently updated Livejournal, or follow me on Twitter.

Links to topics and categories below the cut. Continue reading →

Classic Who – Less is More

Posted on 12/10/2013 by dalekboy

No, I really do enjoy watching Classic Who this way.

So, it’s been less than two days since Enemy of the World and Web of Fear were released to iTunes, and I’m already seeing people posting about how they’ve watched both stories already. And unsurprisingly, some of these folks are saying, “Well, they’re good, but not that good.”

Now everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that opinion has to be fairly arrived at. And I maintain my stance that especially on a first watch, spreading out Classic Who episodes, rather than watching them together in clumps, is the way to do it. Continue reading →

Classic Who – Enemy of the World & Web of Fear!

Posted on 11/10/2013 by dalekboy

I wrote the previous time some episodes were found about my feelings on the discovery of any episode, no matter how good or bad. I also included in that piece advice for those wishing to experience the complete series even though so much is still missing.

This time I want say a brief word about the stories, and simply enthuse about things I’m looking forward to seeing.

Enemy of the World – Troughton gets to show off his acting chops in this story, as he plays the Doctor and the villainous Salamander. It’s a 60’s spy thriller Doctor Who story, with a strange sf twist towards the end. It also handles things differently, by having most of the cliffhangers be about moments of surprise and emotion, rather than actual danger.

Looking forward to – I think if I were to pick only one, I’d most want to see the part six Salamander/Doctor face-off in the TARDIS. From the telesnaps it looks like they used rear projection to have Troughton facing himself, and I sort of want to see that in action.

Other than that, episodes one and five have a fair bit of action going on, so that’d be nice to actually see. But the real strength of this story is as a character piece, and I’m so looking forward to seeing the actors in action, rather than just hearing them.

Web of Fear – It’s the weaker of the two Great Intelligence stories, but that doesn’t make it bad. This is one that I think is likely to be majorly helped by getting returned, given its real strength seemed to lay in its visuals and atmosphere.

Looking forward to – Oh if only part 3 were moving footage so we could have Colonel Lethbridge Stewart’s first appearance, but can’t complain. Well I can, but given I never expected to see any more of this story, that seems churlish. Besides will hopefully be able to see that next year.

On audio the last 10-15 minutes of part 4 is utterly brutal, and while it may be that the realisation on screen will be less intense than it was on audio, the surviving clips from that episode are pretty scary and left me literally open-mouthed in shock. I’m really looking forward to seeing how it is shot.

And needless to say, while I’ve waited my whole Doctor Who fan-life to see these, I’m only going to watch them one episode a night – the way they’re meant to be seen 🙂

Yellowbrickroad (very minor spoilers)

Posted on 01/10/2013 by dalekboy

yellowbrickroad – 9/10

Stunningly good in the way it builds and immerses the audience in the creeping weirdness and horror experienced by the characters. It’s not perfect, but it does what it does very, very well.

Like Uzumaki, it tells its story excellently. It picks when it will hold back, and when to go for broke. And even then it makes clever directorial choices – the first scene of overt violence is ridiculously over the top, but it’s shot silently except for a character’s horrified reaction – which helps to sell it magnificently.

And other choices – those of the kinds of characters and the ways in which they are affected, the break down of their psyches, the ways in which they act out or draw in to themselves. They may not always be the best choices, or most surprising, but they are interesting ones.

And I may be misremembering, but I don’t think it used any incidental music. All music heard is also heard by the characters. Not a new thing, but again, it suits the film’s immersive quality.

Probably the only issue I have is with the ending. It’s not a bad ending, but it’s a divisive one. Most will either love or hate it, I’m somewhere in the middle.

Over all, this is the best of the films to date in terms of solid film-making, leaving me unnerved, and also fitting the whole “cosmic horror” angle I’ve been watching for.

For links to the list of other cosmic horror films I’ve been watching, go here.

Red Sands (very minor spoilers)

Posted on 21/09/2013 by dalekboy

Red Sands – 8/10

This really takes its time to build up to what is going to happen, and then goes about doing it in mostly character-driven ways. I really enjoyed this low budget but well made film.

It mixes subtle moments of weirdness with the occasional gory bit, into a mostly quite effective horror piece. Some of the effects are a bit obvious, but they serve to tell the story. Some of the best effects moments are brilliantly restrained and fleeting, helping to enhance to weirdness. They’re moments where you want to go back to see them again because they were just so quick and odd.

It certainly makes me want to check out the director’s earlier efforts.

My only real complaint is that the opening bit that mentions and talks about the Djinn feels like an unnecessary add-on. I think it may have been an even stronger movie without any of that there to tip the audience off. Then again, some people would have been put off by the lack of any explanation, and there’s nothing to suggest what they are up against actually is a Djinn.

I could see people being a bit divided on this one. It’s certainly not a perfect film, but in terms of telling an interesting and different character-driven horror tale, I thought it was very good.

For links to the list of other cosmic horror films I’ve been watching, go here.

The Vanishing on 7th Street (some spoilers)

Posted on 11/09/2013 by dalekboy

The Vanishing on 7th Street – 7/10

I liked this in spite of what was, to me, a massive, massive flaw in how it chose to tell the story. Basically in this the shadows suddenly come to life for no explained reason and people in the shadows vanish. It’s a cool idea and mostly well executed.

Except for the overwhelming lack of subtlety.

There are CG shadows everywhere. They’re almost constantly moving, right from the start of the film. I don’t care that they’re computer generated, the effects are very well done, but the fact that they’re often shifting and moving removes 90% of the drama. Instead of you wondering about whether any of those shadows are going to come after the characters, you’re constantly reminded that they’re going to. And the fact that the characters get out of so many scrapes further removes the drama.

It means that a scene very early on in the film, where a character sees a shadow of a person move in another room, has no oomph whatsoever. By that point we’ve already seen so many shadows move, we just assume it’s another one. In fact it would have been more of a shock if it had turned out to belong to someone still alive.

It is a good film, and certainly is worth a look, but Uzumaki really spoiled me for great direction and clever film-making.

For links to the list of other cosmic horror films I’ve been watching, go here.

The Forgotten (I completely ruin the film and tell you the ending)

Posted on 05/09/2013 by dalekboy

The Forgotten – 3/10

Look, it’s a good film, but I had some serious issues with the scripting of it so I’m basically going to ruin the ending to explain why it rates so low.

The basic premise is, a woman whose son died in a plane crash is still not over the death of her son 14 months later. Then one day, everyone denies she had a son. And there’s no evidence she ever had a son.

There are some early scripting issues I had. Within the first half of the film, on two occasions the people chasing her get stopped by blind chance placing a car or person in their path so they lose her. Then in another scene, someone looking for her is practically right on top of where she’s hiding and… they get called away.

It all happens very close together and is basically really poor writing. Or directing – maybe the writer had her getting away using her wits and the director thought this was better visually. Who knows? What I do know is that it added up to some bad storytelling.

Later in the film, we meet the unfeeling power that has been screwing with people’s lives. It tells her it was all an experiment to see if it could make people forget their kids, but she’s a threat to the idea that it is possible. That was all fine, but when it suddenly lost its temper and screamed at her and talked about the personal cost to itself should it fail… that was shit. It’s a way to humanise the baddie, which is the exact opposite of what should have been done.

Which leads to the ending, which for me, seriously buggered the central conceit of the film.

Right at the end, when it becomes apparent that she’s not going to forget her son, the powers that be take away the bad guy, and basically give her her son back.

Why?

Seriously, is there any reason to do this other than to give the film a happy ending? Because it makes no friggin’ sense in the context of the entire movie. If they didn’t care about experimenting on these people in the first place, why would they care enough to give them back their kids? In fact, why would they even keep the kids alive? Or on ice? It doesn’t work, especially given that anyone else who seemed to be a threat to the status quo was simply removed, so why not simply remove her at the end of the experiment?

I would have preferred her to find out her son was still alive, living with another family somewhere in the world, and for her to decide she would keep looking for him. I can imagine the beings that started the experiment in the first place thinking that this would be a worthy follow-up. How many years would she search? What would she do? Could she find enough evidence to track him down?

It is a good movie, the acting is solid, it has some nice concepts, but the ending guts the central premise.

For links to the list of other cosmic horror films I’ve been watching, go here.

The Corridor

Posted on 31/08/2013 by dalekboy

The Corridor – 8/10

Low budget Canadian horror. I didn’t understand quite what happened right at the end, but this one did a great job of creeping dread. It builds wonderfully, and has a moment with a television set that was astoundingly creepy on so many levels.

It has some issues, I wasn’t fond of some of the characterisation and such, but over all, I was really impressed by it. It’s not for everyone, and quite nasty and gory at times, but even that is well handled. There are times when they show the gore, and times when they make sure you know bad stuff is happening but don’t show it to you. An awful lot of films could learn from their approach.

All up an interesting and creepy low budget film.

For links to the list of other cosmic horror films I’ve been watching, go here.