Daniel McHugh's Blog - Posts Tagged "zombie"
Bloody Hell
AN AX DRAGGED THROUGH THE GRISTLE OF A SEVERED ELBOW. Have I got your attention? Did I need the caps and the bold or is that a bit much, too over-the-top?
I sat down and watched the second episode in the series "The Walking Dead" last night. Multiple people have told me it's a "great show" and a "fun ride". I've been intrigued because I've also heard that later in the season a sort of hierarchy amongst the chaos evolves. Mysterious characters appear and the story evolves the new world into a setting with its own rules and myth.
That ended for me when the ax was ground into the cartilage to separate the forearm from the body.
Don't get me wrong. I get it. I understand that some corn starch, red dye number 3 and a few ounces of water make excellent human blood. Throw in a food processor and cauliflower and you've got some realistic brains to spill across the concrete. I'm not grossed out by a fireman's ax being dragged through some hunks of meat and stage blood. It has more to do with the purpose of the scene.
Before we go any further, however, I would also like to point out that this is not a rant against violence. We can have that argument at another time. Instead, this is a plea for story, a request for something to engage the brain not something that shows it quivering on the floor with hot lead smoldering inside it.
My main issue with the scene mentioned above is how and why it exists. I have nothing against horror, zombies, etc. In fact, done properly it can be a thrill ride. But for heaven's sake throw some story at me! Give me some plot. If you do give me some plot, use the gore and violence to highlight the plot, not vice versa!
In the scene, our hero and some others are trapped by the zombies in a downtown Atlanta building. They need to find a way out. Note the plot. I'm cool with that. They are in a "no win" situation. How are they gonna survive?
Turns out. The zombies can "smell" humans (or more to the point, not smell living humans. Humans don't give off the noxious odor of the living dead.) Alright, good plot device. The players have some knowledge that might help them out. Now if the humans could only smell like the dead, they might pass through the zombies undetected. They decide to "use" some twice killed zombie bodies. Up until this point I'm on board. It's all just a bit of gross fun and the puzzle of how to escape the overrun city is intriguing.
That's where it ends. The puzzle solution is mapped out too quickly and the episode languishes over the dismemberment of the corpse. More time is spent on the chopping scene than on the revelation of how to solve the puzzle. The puzzle is what makes the narrative fun and engaging. To dismiss it in favor of more gore is a downright shame.
I feel like this is the direction society has taken in both books and film. Good plot is overshadowed by violence or titillation. More often than not, violence and titillation are the focal points strung together by poorly conceived plot.
Just take a quick look at the current movies out on 02/07/2013 with a few quoted comments.
Bullet to the Head: The title speaks for itself
Warm Bodies: Zombie romance. (Probably no nasty scenes in that one)
Movie 43 "The line between gross-out humor that's inspired and the kind that's witless is fine indeed, and Movie 43 obliterates it with poop and movie stars." Boston Globe.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters: "Splattery fanboy fun"
Parker Jason Statham shoting and pounding on bad guys.
Mama Ghost story
Broken City Corruption, murder and violence.
The Last Stand Arnold in "hyper-violent entertainment"
A Haunted House Horror parody:"If the result features around 1,783 too many fart gags, to be fair, it also boasts a couple of genuine minor scares. Although there's no doubt that the film's most horrible sight is a way-too-long shot of Swardson's naked rump."
Gangster Squad: Hollywood anti-gun actors in an ode to violence. "For all the guns and gore, it's as breezy and uncritical as a tale from the True Detective magazine that the cops can't help reading."
Texas Chainsaw 3D "There's nothing thrilling about summarily dispatching everybody who isn't meant to survive to the credits, nothing entertaining about meathook, hatchet and chainsaw murdering that we've seen scores of times."
I think I'll end there. You get the point. Recycled, thin plots with enough shock to keep 'em coming back. I will make one note. Notice the preponderance of violence. Sex sells, but Americans must surely love death and violence even more. I know there are some other worthy movies out there that I didn't mention. No, I'm not trying to skew the data. I could reference "Les Mis", "Django Unchained" and "Zero Dark Thirty", but they would support my argument on violence, not hurt it.
I just can't help but wonder where all the creative talent has gone or if it's still there but pandering to some base emotional level. For example, the foremost stage for current creative talent must be the 30 second Super Bowl spots purchased at the hefty sum of $4 million. Teams of creatives spent months working on this year's crop.
What do we have to show for it? Recycled John Hughes cliches where the girl swoons from the dude bold enough to force a kiss from her. I'll assume she hardly knew the "geek" in this instance, but apparently the aphrodisiac of his sweaty face jammed into hers was too much. Instant love!
I hope my daughters grow up to have a bit more respect for themselves than the pole dancing, nerd kissing, car worshipping, need to be rescued, passed out on a one night stand women of this years ads. Months and a seemingly limitless budgets to come up with a 30 second mini-story, and the best we can get is Budweiser's version of War Horse.
All I can say is, c'mon people, we are better than this. Let's start telling some good stories.
I sat down and watched the second episode in the series "The Walking Dead" last night. Multiple people have told me it's a "great show" and a "fun ride". I've been intrigued because I've also heard that later in the season a sort of hierarchy amongst the chaos evolves. Mysterious characters appear and the story evolves the new world into a setting with its own rules and myth.
That ended for me when the ax was ground into the cartilage to separate the forearm from the body.
Don't get me wrong. I get it. I understand that some corn starch, red dye number 3 and a few ounces of water make excellent human blood. Throw in a food processor and cauliflower and you've got some realistic brains to spill across the concrete. I'm not grossed out by a fireman's ax being dragged through some hunks of meat and stage blood. It has more to do with the purpose of the scene.
Before we go any further, however, I would also like to point out that this is not a rant against violence. We can have that argument at another time. Instead, this is a plea for story, a request for something to engage the brain not something that shows it quivering on the floor with hot lead smoldering inside it.
My main issue with the scene mentioned above is how and why it exists. I have nothing against horror, zombies, etc. In fact, done properly it can be a thrill ride. But for heaven's sake throw some story at me! Give me some plot. If you do give me some plot, use the gore and violence to highlight the plot, not vice versa!
In the scene, our hero and some others are trapped by the zombies in a downtown Atlanta building. They need to find a way out. Note the plot. I'm cool with that. They are in a "no win" situation. How are they gonna survive?
Turns out. The zombies can "smell" humans (or more to the point, not smell living humans. Humans don't give off the noxious odor of the living dead.) Alright, good plot device. The players have some knowledge that might help them out. Now if the humans could only smell like the dead, they might pass through the zombies undetected. They decide to "use" some twice killed zombie bodies. Up until this point I'm on board. It's all just a bit of gross fun and the puzzle of how to escape the overrun city is intriguing.
That's where it ends. The puzzle solution is mapped out too quickly and the episode languishes over the dismemberment of the corpse. More time is spent on the chopping scene than on the revelation of how to solve the puzzle. The puzzle is what makes the narrative fun and engaging. To dismiss it in favor of more gore is a downright shame.
I feel like this is the direction society has taken in both books and film. Good plot is overshadowed by violence or titillation. More often than not, violence and titillation are the focal points strung together by poorly conceived plot.
Just take a quick look at the current movies out on 02/07/2013 with a few quoted comments.
Bullet to the Head: The title speaks for itself
Warm Bodies: Zombie romance. (Probably no nasty scenes in that one)
Movie 43 "The line between gross-out humor that's inspired and the kind that's witless is fine indeed, and Movie 43 obliterates it with poop and movie stars." Boston Globe.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters: "Splattery fanboy fun"
Parker Jason Statham shoting and pounding on bad guys.
Mama Ghost story
Broken City Corruption, murder and violence.
The Last Stand Arnold in "hyper-violent entertainment"
A Haunted House Horror parody:"If the result features around 1,783 too many fart gags, to be fair, it also boasts a couple of genuine minor scares. Although there's no doubt that the film's most horrible sight is a way-too-long shot of Swardson's naked rump."
Gangster Squad: Hollywood anti-gun actors in an ode to violence. "For all the guns and gore, it's as breezy and uncritical as a tale from the True Detective magazine that the cops can't help reading."
Texas Chainsaw 3D "There's nothing thrilling about summarily dispatching everybody who isn't meant to survive to the credits, nothing entertaining about meathook, hatchet and chainsaw murdering that we've seen scores of times."
I think I'll end there. You get the point. Recycled, thin plots with enough shock to keep 'em coming back. I will make one note. Notice the preponderance of violence. Sex sells, but Americans must surely love death and violence even more. I know there are some other worthy movies out there that I didn't mention. No, I'm not trying to skew the data. I could reference "Les Mis", "Django Unchained" and "Zero Dark Thirty", but they would support my argument on violence, not hurt it.
I just can't help but wonder where all the creative talent has gone or if it's still there but pandering to some base emotional level. For example, the foremost stage for current creative talent must be the 30 second Super Bowl spots purchased at the hefty sum of $4 million. Teams of creatives spent months working on this year's crop.
What do we have to show for it? Recycled John Hughes cliches where the girl swoons from the dude bold enough to force a kiss from her. I'll assume she hardly knew the "geek" in this instance, but apparently the aphrodisiac of his sweaty face jammed into hers was too much. Instant love!
I hope my daughters grow up to have a bit more respect for themselves than the pole dancing, nerd kissing, car worshipping, need to be rescued, passed out on a one night stand women of this years ads. Months and a seemingly limitless budgets to come up with a 30 second mini-story, and the best we can get is Budweiser's version of War Horse.
All I can say is, c'mon people, we are better than this. Let's start telling some good stories.
