Baby Blues (2008)

Baby Blues was released in 2008 by Lars E. Jacobson and Amardeep Kaleka and stars Colleen Porch and Ridge Canipe.

I don't know what to think of the movie, exactly. It certainly took a rare kind of guts to make a slasher movie about Postpartum Depression, but that may not have payed off.

Baby Blues is, in fact, too heavily influenced by slasher films. This film could have been much more successful had it concentrated more on the mother's descent into her insanity and how her rage begins to manifest itself, like how Bug (2006) was set up, rather than parceling out a few faux-creepy/crazy scenes in the first few minutes before immediately segueing straight into the traditional stalk-and-kill second act.

Conversely, the slasher aspect could have worked had the movie not taken itself so seriously. I mean, the concept seems, to me, to be classic exploitation movie fodder, but by trying to be so SERIOUS and GRITTY, the movie lost what could have been a great example of bad taste. I mean, it IS a film about a mother murdering each of her children while spouting catchphrases such as "Come to Mama!" That's not exactly Highbrow Art Film material.

What makes exploitation movies great is their unapologetic and somewhat gleeful use of horrible situations, converting our deepest fears into something ridiculous we can goggle at. Without that sheen of hyperbole, the movie simply becomes uncomfortable to watch, and not in a thought-provoking kind of way. This is exactly the trap Baby Blues fell in to.

Also, without a mood of exploitation, the end of this movie seems jarring against the tone of the first two-thirds. The mother's survival, and the revelation that she is, in fact, pregnant again, seem a bit too "And the seemingly dead body sits up!" for my taste. Especially since the beginning of the movie worked so hard to retain realism, it feels cheap that she could have escaped, un-scarred, from a house fire to be taken back in by her husband, who then expects this relevation to sit well with his one surviving son. It's just too contrived.

Also, I understand the concept of Southern Gothic, but can't crazy people be from somewhere else every so often?

C

The Devil's Rejects (2005)

The Devil's Rejects was released in 2005 by Rob Zombie, and stars Sid Haig, Billy Moseley, and Sheri Moon Zombie.

This is one of the best, most complex horror movies I have seen in a long time, and it far exceeds its predecessor, House of a 1,000 Corpses (2003).

Honestly, I didn't really care for HoaTC. I had high hopes for the movie, especially because one of my friends flat out refused to watch it, saying she had heard it was "corpse porn." Of course, after that, I had to see it.

When I sat down to watch it, however, I was disappointed. It seemed just like every other "stranded-in-the-South" killer movie you've ever seen, operating as a freak show display case for the Firefly family, who were simply not freaky enough to carry the movie. A car breaks down, tourists end up trapped with a Texas Chainsaw Massacre-style (1974) family, blah blah blah.

The Devil's Rejects is much more intricate than HoaTC, especially in its development of the Firefly family. A few months after the events of HoaTC, the police raid the Firefly Ranch, killing Rufus and taking Mother Firefly into custody. Baby and Otis escape, and later meet up with Captain Spalding, Baby's father. Basically, Baby, Otis and Capt. Spalding go on the run, until they are captured by Sheriff Wydell. Wydell has a particular vendetta against the Firefly clan, as they killed his brother in HoaTC.

What is truly interesting in this film is its moral ambiguity. Though Otis, Baby, and Capt. Spalding are serial killers, they become the victims in the face of Wydell's quest for vengeance. Baby is even shown at one point in the traditional slasher movie victim role, fleeing across a field, pursued by a gun-toting Wydell.

In this movie, good and evil are not mutually exclusive, permanent terms, but mutable concepts independent of one's status or actions. Wydell's status as a cop does not place him on the side of good, just as the Firefly's past homicidal actions do not make them evil in the eyes of the film. One's status really just depends on what side of the fence one is on.

What the film truly values, however, is freedom: from guilt, from fear, and from society's rules. The Fireflys are committed to their actions, and their willingness to go out fighting rather than surrender is portrayed as blatantly heroic, especially the strategic use of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird." Conversely, what makes Wydell the villain are not his actions, but his unwillingness to let go of his hatred.

A+

Also, the mask scene was gnarly. I was seriously horrified, which means the movie did its job perfectly. A++!

True Blood and Twilight

True Blood is currently airing on HBO on Sundays at nine.

Twilight is the first in a book series by Stephanie Meyers, and is now a movie starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.

True Blood is what Twilight should have been. As I type this, I can hear the rattle of sabers as an army of thirteen year olds gathers at my door, but it is the truth. Really, the show is just a sexier interpretation of the books, with a dash of "Heroes" for good measure, set somewhere that isn't so horrendously rainy. This doesn't mean True Blood doesn't have its flaws, or Twilight its strengths, but True Blood is better if one is looking for horror.

I've read all of Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse, but only about a third of Breaking Dawn, as it was simply too ridiculous to allow me to continue. I can really see why all the Twi-Hards (this, or sometimes Twi-Nerd, is the proper term for Twilight fans) were so upset after its release. Though I only spent a few days on the series as a whole, I felt cheated. I can only imagine how everyone else felt.

There is simply too much to expound upon here in regards to the series. Beyond bad writing, or obsessive description devoted to Edward's beauty, intelligence and gentle disposition, Bella's character is obnoxiously weak. I wanted to scream at her. When Edward leaves for what he sees as Bella's own good, she basically goes catatonic for four months, as she can not function without him. Though she is a good student, she gives up on college for she no longer sees a reason for it now that she has found her "true love."

She is unable to defend herself, is manipulative and so emotionally immature one wonders how Edward, in his advanced age, can manage to hold a conversation with her. In what I think was a bid to make her character "lovably flawed," she is clumsy to the point of handicap, and basically must be rescued from herself every few pages. She does not even have a good nature to redeem herself, but is shrill and overly-opinionated in what I think was Meyer's failed attempt to make her a "strong female character." She is, unequivocally, a bad example for all those thirteen year old girls who love her, especially in concerns to romance. Everything is simply presented to her, and Bella and Edward's problems mostly stem from loving each other too much. It sets up unrealistic expectations.

On a more horrific note, Meyer's vampires are anything but. They possess every power, but every weakness of their kind has been eradicated. They can not walk in the direct sunlight not because they will burn, but because they will sparkle and thereby attract undue attention. They do not feed on humans, and seem more like good faries than creatures of the dark.

However, there are moments of danger and appeal. In Eclipse, which I think was actually acceptable as a novel, Edward rips a fellow vampire's head clean off her shoulders and it rolls to Bella's feet. These kind of moments, though few and far between, highlight the true essence of a vampire. That is exactly what NEEDS to be seen in the series, but are most often censored out.

This brings me back to True Blood. I have only watched the first four episodes, as I do not own a television, but I feel the basics of the series are already apparent. Violence pervades every scene of this show, and not only from the vampires.

Sookie, the main character, saves Bill the vampire from a couple attempting to steal his blood in order to sell it as a drug. Though she looks just like Hayden Panettiere from Heroes, she defies her tiny, blonde appearance and attacks the man with a chain. She sucessfully rescues Bill, but is later ambused by the couple, who throw her to the ground and kick her in the ribs until blood pours from her mouth.

As one can see, the makers of True Blood do not shy from violence, but I also enjoy that this violence is not soley the domain of the vampires. It certainly makes for a much more complex set of morals than the normal "humans good/vampires bad" party line.

I could go on about this, but I'm running out of room. Basically, True Blood simply has what Twilight lacks: violence, sex and above all, heart.

Twilight, the book: C-
New Moon: D
Eclipse: B
Breaking Dawn: F

Twilight Movie: B

True Blood: A